40% tests in Nepal positive as coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc

Nepal has recorded half a million Covid cases and 6,000 deaths, numbers that experts believe deeply undercount the toll. Testing remains limited.

 

One figure could indicate the true severity: For weeks now, about 40 percent of the tests conducted have been positive.

 

A government in disarray has compounded the trouble. K P Sharma Oli, Nepal’s embattled prime minister, has been pushing for an election in November after the country’s Parliament was dissolved last week, an event that could worsen the spread.

 

Earlier this week, Hridyesh Tripathi, Nepal’s minister for health and population, said the government was considering declaring a health emergency as infections rise.