105 new cases of COVID-19 and 288 Recoveries in 24 hours; China to provide 300,000 Covid-19 vaccine

Kathmandu, Jan. 31: With 105 new cases of the novel coronavirus confirmed on Sunday, the national COVID-19 tally has reached 270,959.

“In 3,308 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests done in the last 24 hours, 105 persons were found infected with SARS-CoV-2,” informed Dr. Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) in the regular press briefing.

Of the new infections, 68 were recorded in the Kathmandu valley including 60 in Kathmandu, two in Bhaktapur, and six in Lalitpur.

Currently, there are 2,594 active cases of COVID-19 across the nation of which, 862 are receiving treatment in various institutional isolation and 1,732 are placed in home isolation. Of the active patients, 143 are admitted to the ICU and 25 are receiving treatment with ventilator facility.

Meanwhile, 288 COVID-19 patients receiving treatment in institutional isolation or staying in home isolation recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours. Nepal has now recorded 266,336 cases of recoveries and the recovery rate is at 98.29 per cent.

Moreover, two persons succumbed to the novel coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours, taking Nepal’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,029.

Kathmandu Valley logs 68 new cases

The three districts of Kathmandu valley recorded 68 additional cases of coronavirus infection, on Sunday.

Of the newly infected, 28 are females while 40 are males.

Kathmandu district alone witnessed 60 cases of infection while Lalitpur and Bhaktapur reported six and two cases, respectively. At present, there are 1,526 active Covid-19 cases in Kathmandu while number of the same in Lalitpur is 94 and that in Bhaktapur is 14.

As many as 499 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 in Kathmandu. Likewise, 160 fatalities have been reported in Lalitpur, and 115 in Bhaktapur, so far.

Meanwhile, total number of people who have recovered from the disease in Kathmandu is 99,417 while 15,771 people have recovered in Lalitpur and 9,088 in Bhaktapur.

Today, 105 new cases of coronavirus infection surfaced in the country following which the nationwide Covid-19 tally has reached 270,959.

The nationwide death-toll has advanced to 2,029 with two Covid-related fatalities logged today.

Kathmandu is the only district with over 500 active cases in the country. On the contrary, Bhojpur, Kalikot, Rukum West, and Mugu are the three districts with zero live infections, as of today.

China to provide 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine under grant assistance to Nepal

China on Sunday said that it has decided to provide 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine under grant assistance to Nepal.

Issuing a press statement, the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu said that the Chinese government has decided to provide 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Nepal, which would benefit 150,000 Nepali people.

“China and Nepal are good neighbors, good friends and good partners. Facing whatever challenges like the earthquake and the pandemic, the two countries have always supported and helped each other through thick and thin,” reads the press statement.

In order to implement Chinese President Xi Jinping’s solemn commitment that China will make its vaccine a global public good once available, and on the request of the Nepali government, the Chinese government decided to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal under grant assistance.

“Despite huge demands for the vaccines both in China domestically and across the world at present, the Chinese government has prioritized Nepal in providing the vaccines, fully demonstrating the great importance it attaches to the China-Nepal friendship,” reads the press statement.

The vaccine to be donated to Nepal is developed by the Sinopharm and has already got conditional marketing approval in China, the embassy said.

The embassy said that more than 24 million doses have been administrated until January 31.

“After a two-dose inoculation procedure, the vaccine shows 79.34% efficacy against COVID-19, and the seroconversion rate of neutralizing antibodies reached 99.52%. The safety and effectiveness of the vaccine has surpassed the marketing standards of the World Health Organization, and received wide recognition by other countries. So far, the vaccine has got licenses for marketing or approval for emergency use in 13 foreign countries including Pakistan, the UAE, Egypt, Hungary, etc,” reads the press release.

The embassy said that it is coordinating with relevant Nepali authorities on the registration for emergency use and receipt of the vaccine and would like to deliver the vaccines to the Nepali side at the earliest so as to help Nepal win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Chinese side is willing to work together with the Nepali side to build a community of health for all and further strengthen and promote the strategic partnership of cooperation featuring the ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity between the two countries,” according to the press release.