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What we’re going to tell you today might be borderline illegal in Nepal. Or it might not be. Without clear directives, we don’t know.

We’re talking about the Virtual Private Networks (VPN). In simple terms, solutions that help you mask your IP Address to protect you from the potential threat of hackers (think using torrents), and let you access websites that have been banned.

When we say banned, we don’t mean only the porn websites that our super-intelligent Nepali government banned to curb sexual violence. It includes offerings of service providers like Netflix, Hotstar and even YouTube that may not show certain videos in Nepal. VPN helps users access those videos and plenty of other materials not available in Nepal.

So it’s not all sex and crimes with VPN. People can use it for protection and recreation.

ExpressVPN

The ExpressVPN is compatible with almost all available routers and operating systems and allows up to five simultaneous connections. With 256-bit AES encryption and a no-logs policy, ExpressVPN with 3,000+ servers in over 90 countries allows unlimited bandwidth and data.

This VPN service has a 30-day money back guarantee and is extremely secure and includes an automatic kill switch to prevent leaks during accidental disconnects, and split tunneling that allows you to choose what traffic passes through the VPN. Access to so many IP addresses allows the service to go undetected even by the strictest anti-VPN measures.

ProtonVPN

The ProtonVPN comes with unlimited free data and no-log policy adhering to Swiss privacy laws to protect your anonymity. It offers a limited free version, which gives you access to servers in Japan, Netherlands and US only. But the unlimited data even on the free version sets ProtonVPN apart from similar other services.

Upgrading to a paid plan will boost the performance and speed but you can use the free virtual locations to bypass censorship and access geo-blocked social media platforms and messaging apps.

Along with an easy-to-use, intuitive interface and multi-platform compatibility, this VPN also offers strong security, including powerful AES encryption and an automatic kill switch.

Windscribe

Windscribe allows 10GB of free data every month and with its robust encryption, malware protection and ad blocking, this VPN also offers a desktop app and browser extension.

The free version restricts you to servers in the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, and Switzerland. But this should be more than enough to unblock most contents on the web.

Windscribe comes with a firewall that blocks all traffic outside the VPN’s secure tunnel in order to prevent unexpected leaks. The company has a detailed privacy policy that clearly explains what data they store, as well as a no-logs policy to protect your privacy.

The building of Western Regional Health Laboratory is cordoned off by ropes encircling it. This is the place where the novel coronavirus is tested in Pokhara, the famous tourist city in western Nepal. Before the pandemic, the lab was open to all and it carried out all types of medical diagnostic tests.  

The lab is Subhadra Dulal’s office, where she reaches around eight every morning, traveling 25 km. She leaves behind her daughter of 16 months and a son of 4 years with her in-laws. Initially, the in-laws did not know she conducted coronavirus tests; only her husband knew. 

Dulal is not scared, unlike many others in her profession who are shirking their jobs over the safety of their own health. When the provincial government wanted to build a rapid response team to handle the Covid-19 pandemic, many of her colleagues refused to be a part. 

“Even if I can isolate just one case, I save the family, the society, and the nation as a whole,” says Dulal with visible pride.

When APEX caught up with her outside the lab, she was in a hurry. Some swabs had already been collected for corona testing. Some were on the way. It would take several hours to finish the work. She had to rush back home to breastfeed her daughter. 

 During last year’s dengue epidemic, she had buried herself in the lab, testing hundreds of samples. In 2015, she was posted in Gorkha, when the earthquake struck. She was 8-month pregnant then. But that didn’t deter her from going out in the village and helping the people. For the graduate in medical lab technology and a government employee, nothing feels as good as giving back to the society.

Covid-19 testing is a serious job. When the provincial government first chose her for it, she felt excited but nervous at the same time. There were few safety measures in place. She went to Lekhnath Community Lions Hospital to get sample from one suspected patient, which was her first corona-related job. 

“The first time, I was quite scared while taking the swab. When I reached home, I entered from the back door to avoid touching the kids. I took a shower before going near them,” she recalls. The sample tested negative for Covid-19.

Now her lab is better equipped and she doesn’t worry as much. “In the lab we have adequate personal protective equipment as well as well as a biosafety cabinet. If the virus somehow escapes into the lab, the machine kills them and prevents infection,” she says. The lab is currently operating with six technicians. The federal government has given a PCR machine that can conduct one test an hour. Another, older machine tests 72 samples an hour. 

Dulal has always liked helping others, and took up medical technology of her own choice. “The provincial government thinks I can do this job. Many of my colleagues do not have that opportunity,” she says.  

With another extension of the Nepal lockdown, to April 27, people’s patience is wearing thin. Humans are just not used to being cooped up in their homes for weeks on end. The first few days and weeks of lockdown, as evidence from around the world suggests, can increase family bonding and prompt reflection about our lives and our careers. It also acts as a sobering reminder that however much humankind has progressed, a freak natural accident can still bring the world to a standstill in a jiffy. But a chance at retrospection and renewal aside, there is only so much you can endure.

What if there is no other option, though? Accept it or not, Nepal has only just started on its corona journey. As testing speeds up, so will the number of confirmed corona positives, and it could be months before Nepal reaches its ‘peak’ cases. And as the number of cases mount, the lockdown will get stricter still. Some places are already being sealed off. In the next few weeks and months, if scientific projections are to be believed, South Asia as a whole will be pummeled by the novel coronavirus. The number of infections and deaths will swell. As ominously, with the national economy on the skids, unemployment and privation will rise, hitting those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder the hardest. In fact, before the corona wave dies down, the pandemic could completely and forever change our lives.

Preparing for the worst is not the same thing as panicking. The only way a poor country like Nepal can deal with a crisis of this magnitude is to assume the worst and prepare for it. Yes, that will entail hardship for many folks. Countless tough decisions will have to be made. But one thing we as a country cannot do—never mind the rising restlessness—is to assume that we will get through this easily. Even the countries that were far better equipped to handle the crisis have struggled—and how! We should thus be closely watching and learning from international experiences every step of the way. Again, besides checking the spread of the virus, ensuring adequate provisions for those struggling for two meals a day should be the immediate priority. This crisis will test our national resolve. Only perseverance and collective effort will pull us out of it.

Kathmandu: The number of the novel coronavirus cases in Nepal has reached 14, including one person who has been cured of the disease. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, the number of positive corona cases has been increasing gradually in line with the greater number of tests carried out. 
In a press conference, Dr. Bikas Devkota, spokesperson at the ministry, informed that new two cases had been spotted in the past 24 hours, one in Rautahat district and another in Kailali district. A 19-year boy in Rautahat district, who was in quarantine, tested positive. Likewise, a 65-year-old woman from Kailali district tested positive.
Urging people to follow the lockdown, Devkota said the number of cases in Nepal has been rising.  The ministry has informed that contact tracing of previously infected people has been completed, and the process is underway for the two new infections. Till April 11, there had been over 10,000 tests in 52 districts. Similarly, 103 people are in isolation, nine in Kathmandu valley and 94 outside.  Around 7,000 people are in quarantine.

One activity you’re doing most often during the lockdown?

Spending time with my dogs.

The best film/series you suggest for the lockdown?

Many. But if I’ve to name one, it’ll be F.R.I.E.N.D.S, over and over again! 

Have you read anything lately? Would you suggest it?

Hippie by Paulo Coelho

Best music to listen to? 

‘State of Grace’ by Liquid Tension Experiment

How do you work out during the lockdown?

Home workouts like before. Been a while since I’ve hit the gym, so not much difference really.

How long do you think the lockdown will continue?

Probably a couple of months more.

What is the first thing you’ll do when the lockdown is over?

Visit my mom.

If you were not at home, where would you prefer to be locked down?

Somewhere in Nusa Penida (an island in Indonesia) with a sunset view and access to food and basic supplies. 

If you were to be locked down with a Nepali celebrity for 21 days, who would it be? 

Rohit Shakya. I could actually listen to the live sessions for real and hopefully acquire some new skills over time. Maybe even get inspired to play the keys again.

One dish you wouldn’t mind eating everyday during the lockdown?

Pizza, All day, Everyday! Wouldn’t mind it!

While the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown has more than half the world’s population cooped up in their homes, people are also learning to work—and communicate— from the comfort of their homes. Here are three online meeting and conferencing services to help you.

Zoom

Zoom is a video-conferencing solution that has a limited service for free; the Pro plan with more features is being offered for $14.99 a month per user. Currently, Zoom is probably the most popular service among professionals to hold remote meetings with their work colleagues.

Zoom has useful features like high definition video and audio and, for the paying members, provision of typed transcripts of all calls you record as videos. It considers the needs of all types of users and is also being used by high profile companies such as Pandora, Box, GoDaddy, Slack, and Uber.

Zoho Meeting

Zoho Meeting is another excellent tool for video-conferencing. It does not offer a free version, but has a 14-day trial period for users to test and get acquainted with the product before purchasing the service. The pricing for Zoho Meeting starts at $10 per host per month for up to 100 participants. The webinar plan starts at $19.

One advantage, if one may call it that, of the Zoho Meeting is that it is web and browser-based, and therefore, you don’t need to download any software or install anything to use the tool. With a simple Chrome extension you can host and record online meetings and webinars. Further, you can share and record screens across various platforms.

EZTalks

The EZTalks video conferencing solution allows users to access collaboration services such as webinars, online meetings, audio, and video conferencing. With EZTalk, you can share presentations, slideshows, audios, and videos with up to 10,000 participants.

The EZTalks free plan has a 40 minutes limit on group meetings and allows you to host up 100 participants. The paid plans with more advanced features start at $13 per month per host. The software of EZtalks can be used on a wide range of platforms including Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Linux.

Oasis Tea Industries that was established last year in Suryodaya Municipality, Ilam, has now been closed. The Covid-19 pandemic has not spared even this small tea producer in eastern Nepal.

 The famous tea gardens of the district are lush with new tea leaves. But there is nobody to pick them or package them. Factories are shut. There is no one to take orders or deliver them to the market. Nor is any cargo company operating to take orders and ship the stock abroad.

 “Our importers from abroad are not placing orders. They seem to be in a wait and see mode,” says Jyoti Adhikari, owner of the company.

 The company exported 1,300 kg of tea to France last year. But Adhikari cannot even contact the French importer this year. “They don’t reply to our emails. So how can we start processing tea for this season?” he asks. His company buys fresh leaves from the gardens and processes them for exports.

 “Since we haven’t even cleared last year’s stocks, we cannot buy new leaves this year,” Adhikari adds. “We are short of funds to keep the factory running.” 

 Not only Oasis, most tea factories in Nepal’s 14 districts where tea is grown have been closed due to the corona crisis. Ilam and Jhapa are Nepal’s two biggest tea-producing districts.

 Nepal exports 90 percent of its tea to India. But the Indian tea dealers have already stopped imports due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Nepal had exported 14.5 million kg tea to India last year, according to National Tea and Coffee Development Board, earning Rs 2.88 billion in the process.

 “Under current circumstances, the first batch of tea leaves will go to waste. This will affect the quality of tea we produce for the rest of the year,” Adhikari says.

Tea producers are worried that they will lose a lot of money with the stoppage of exports. They export the finest and most expensive products. “The leaves we would pick this season would be of the best quality, the ones to attract third-country importers,” says Udaya Chapagain, proprietor of Gorkha Tea Estate.

Nepal’s tea goes to 30 countries including to Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the UAE, and the US. Nepal had altogether exported 498,596 kg tea to those countries last year, according to the board records.

“If we can’t sell tea, we will be bankrupt. The factories can’t pay back bank loans or bear other expenses,” adds Chapagain.   

Adhikari estimates that the closure will directly affect over 29,000 people across the country whose livelihood depends on the tea industry. 

Factories in Ilam have over 100,000 kilos of tea left over from last year’s stock. “If the corona crisis continues, both the farmers and traders face a very uncertain future,” says Gopal Kattel, secretary of Suryodaya Tea Producers’ Association.

One activity you’re doing the most in the lockdown?

Cleaning/ eating

The best film/series you suggest for the lockdown?

Andaz Apna Apna

Have you read anything lately? Would you recommend it?

Newspapers. Only news for now.

Best music to listen to?

John Mayer

How do you work out during the lockdown?

Actually, I stopped working out because of the lockdown. Sad.

How long do you think the lockdown will last?

21 days

What is the first thing you’ll do when the lockdown is over?

Band practice

If not home, where would you prefer to be during the lockdown?

Trekking to the mountains

If you were to be locked down with a Nepali celebrity for 21 days, who would it be?

Madan Krishna Shrestha dai

One dish you wouldn’t mind eating everyday in the lockdown?

Chatpate