KATHMANDU, May 23: The growth rate of new COVID-19 cases in the Kathmandu Valley has remained constant for around a week. The Kathmandu Valley has been witnessing around 2,500 new cases of COVID-19 daily on average for the past one week, according to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP).

The Valley recorded 2,320 new cases on Saturday, 2,427 on Friday, 2,232 on Thursday, 2,486 on Wednesday and 2,523 on Tuesday. Among the three districts in the Valley, Kathmandu has been recording four times more COVID-19 cases daily than Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts.

While the new cases of COVID-19 remain constant in the capital, the number is increasing in rural areas and districts outside of the capital.

COVID-19 cases which were on the rise in Bagmati, Lumbini and Gandaki provinces two weeks ago are now rising in Sudurpaschim Province, and provinces 1 and 2. COVID-19 is spreading at the community level in villages, according to the health ministry.

New cases of COVID-19 are gradually declining in Bagmati, Lumbini and Gandaki provinces but are rising in Province 1 and 2 and Sudurpaschim Province, said deputy spokesperson for the health ministry, Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari. “Neglecting prohibitory orders and lack of treatment have increased the risk of COVID-19 infection in rural areas,” he added.

According to Dr Jageshwar Gautam, spokesperson for MoHP, around 60 percent of people are found defying the prohibitory orders across the country. “Likewise, those returning home from the Kathmandu Valley and other places have been hardly found staying in quarantine for at least 10 days this time,” he added.

The pandemic seems gradually coming under control in the capital but is increasing in the countryside and villages.

 
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