Kathmandu, March 25 -- As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, hospitals have been overwhelmed. Nepal is ahead of the curve, but if the case load is to rise steeply as it has done in Italy or Spain, the government needs to start preparing ICUs, ventilators, and protective gear for hospital staff.
At present, nurses, doctors, interns and resident doctors and other medical personnel in Nepal's hospitals lack personal protective equipment (PPE), and they fear for their own lives while treating patients with suspected coronavirus.
Patients can be carriers and spreaders of the virus without showing any symptoms. Thousands have been visiting hospitals to get tested, have chest x-rays done, and could be unknowingly infecting medical staff. ...