Kathmandu, Sept. 22 -- In July, as the government eased the first lockdown, people streamedacross the border from India into Nepal, spreading thecoronavirus infection along cities in the Tarai.

The districts from Jhapa to Parsa became hotspots. Hospitals ran out of ICU beds and ventilators, municipalities had no test kits left, and there were horror stories of patients dying while going from one hospital to another that refused admission.

But it did not take too long for asymptomatic carriers to bring the virus into Kathmandu Valley, where population density and high mobilitymade the capital an ideal breeding ground for SARS-CoV-2.

With 16 additional deaths on Monday and two on Tuesday, total Covid-19 fatality in Nepal has now reached ...