KATHMANDU, April 30: Based on the number of new COVID-19 infections, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has marked 22 districts across the country as extremely affected ones. 

Issuing a public statement on Friday, the ministry said that the districts mostly located in the country’s southern parts and in the Kathmandu Valley are severely impacted by the new variant of the deadly coronavirus. 

The list includes all three districts in the Valley -- Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. Similarly, Tarai districts including Morang, Jhapa, Parsa, Bara, Dhanusha, Chitwan, Dang, Banke, Rupandehi, Bardiya, Kapilvastu, Kailali and Kanchanpur are also categorized as the extremely-affected districts. The hill districts which have been impacted by the second wave of the virus include Makwanpur, Palpa and Kaski, according to the ministry. 

According to Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari, assistant spokesperson for the ministry, the trend of new infections is at such an alarming rate that the health system might not be able to hold the patients. 

“At this time of health emergency, we would like to urge one and all to abide by public health protocol such as wearing face masks, maintaining physical distance, avoiding crowds and washing hands with soap and water frequently,” he wrote in the statement.

 
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