Overcoming Covid-19 pandemic

Published On: September 29, 2020 02:11 PM NPT By: Anjana Deuja


Anjana Deuja

Anjana Deuja

The contributor for Republica.
news@myrepublica.com

The Covid-19 outbreak has affected people across the globe, sparing no one and no sector. In Nepal, it has taken toll on agriculture production.  Agriculture products, including fruits and vegetables, have become too expensive. On the other hand, farmers are compelled to dump their products—including vegetables and milk products—because they have not been able to supply them to the market.

The situation in health sector is equally bleak. Frontline health workers, including nurses, doctors, pharmacists and lab technicians are playing a significant role in combating this pandemic but they are exposed to the risks of infection.

As mobility has been restricted and people are forced to maintain physical distancing it has helped to minimize the possibilities of further spread of infection but it has also affected overall mental, physical and social health of people, also leading to cases of social discrimination. There are cases of house owners evicting medical professionals. Some landlords are forcing their tenants out of their houses for not paying rents or for not undergoing PCR tests. Even those who return home after cure are being socially avoided and discriminated.

Nepal is rich in natural beauty, blessed with innumerable gifts of nature. But we have not been able to exploit our tourism potentials because of the pandemic.  The Visit Nepal 2020 campaign has fallen prey to pandemic attack. We aimed to bring as many as two million tourists by the end of this 2020. We were excited about the prospect of tourism and there was a high hope of rejuvenation of tourism and economy. Such hopes have been dashed.

The pandemic has affected educational system as well. Yes, online classes are going on but not all the people have access to the internet and thus they are being deprived of opportunities of learning. Besides, many students and teachers struggle to adjust with online teaching and learning. One good thing, however, is that education is going digital and many children are getting used to new features of learning.

After the lockdown, borders were closed and schools and colleges were shut down. Livelihood has been greatly affected. While many countries are supporting their citizens by providing financial assistance, Nepal has not been able to do so.

It is the responsibility of the government to prevent infection and protect people but we the general people should also play our role in this initiative. We need to help each other by maintaining cleanliness and social distancing. We need to find ways to overcome the challenges brought by Covid-19 together.  We have faced tough times multiple times—in 2015 because of the earthquakes and blockade and now because of the pandemic.

We need to overcome this pandemic too.  But we need to take care of our health and be kind to each other to help others take care of their health.

The author is a nurse.

                              

 

 

 


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