Kathmandu, Aug. 22 -- On June 18, when Nepal's number of Covid-19 cases soared to 7,848 and the death toll rached 22, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was downplaying the threat of the coronavirus and peddling dubious cures that have no medical standing.

At the National Assembly, Oli delivered a long lecture, trivialising Covid-19, a disease that has brought the world to its knees.

"Corona is like the flu," said Oli. If contracted, one should sneeze, drink hot water and drive the virus away."

Three months before Oli's claims, the World Health Organisation on March 11 had declared Covid-19 a pandemic. There were over 118,000 coronavirus cases in over 110 countries and territories around the world and the UN health agency warned that there w...