Kathmandu, Oct. 7 -- Looking at the daily statistics from the Ministry of Health, the figures are alarming. Nepal is nearing the 100,000 Covid-19 cases mark, and this week the country overtook the total number of cases in China.

Kathmandu Valley has emerged as a major hotspotsince August-September and now accounts for one-third all Covid-19 deaths and over 61% of active cases nationwide.

This is a dramatic about-turn from July, when the Valley accounted for only 4% of all active cases in Nepal. But by August it was up to 15%, and 34% in September.

On Wednesday, Nepal recorded its highest number of positive cases on a single day with 3,439, out of which 1,684 were in Kathmandu Valley alone. Fifteen people died in the past 24 hours, brin...