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Doing the busting is Sushil Koirala, a Bangkok-based public health expert and one of the authors of the popular change.org petition urging the Nepali government to massively expand Covid-19 testing.

Myth 1: There’s no virus in Nepal. The government is making up the positive cases to extend the lockdown and get donations from international agencies.

Fact: As viruses are very small, they are difficult to see. The only way to know for sure is to find an infected person and test them for a virus. Our government may certainly be faking many things, but it’s unlikely that a virus that has infected over six million people around the world and taken the life of almost half a million can be faked.

Nepal has plenty of reasons to seek foreign aid but rest assured, we have neither the skill nor the manpower to create such a massive hoax.

Myth 2: Nepalis are immune to the virus because of what they eat: ginger, garlic, turmeric, you name it.

Fact: Nepal happens to be among only a handful of countries that has seen a few deaths among young adults and children—even with a small number of its positive cases. Garlic, ginger and turmeric are good for health (they taste good too) and may boost your immunity, too, but the ‘garlic immunity’ is not known to protect anyone from the Covid-19 virus. If that were the case, no one in China would have gotten the virus. They love garlic and ginger there.

No one knows why the virus makes someone very sick while nothing happens to someone else it infects, and overall health does not seem to make a difference on the severity of symptoms. Nepal is at a higher risk of severe Covid-19 cases as people’s overall health here is poorer compared to the health of the people of more developed countries.

Myth 3: As the Covid-19 death rate in Nepal is low, not many Nepalis will from it.

Fact: People don’t die as soon as they get the infection; it generally takes time for someone to acquire the virus and then die from it. Up to now, most infections in Nepal have been seen in labor migrants, who tend to be young males. As you probably know, young people are at lesser risk of dying from Covid-19. So we don’t see high death numbers. Globally, the virus seems to infect younger people (as they move around a lot more) and then slowly moves to the elderly, who are most affected by it. I think we are just not there yet. The young-to-old is a natural progression of this pandemic in other countries.

Myth 4: The climate of Nepal is unsuitable for the virus.

 Fact: This virus is now circulating in five continents and has affected 182 countries. Some are spreading faster than others but it is now clear that it can spreads in all kinds of climates.

Myth 5: The virus strain we have is weak.

Fact: As the virus spreads, it mutates. As viruses replicate rather than reproduce, these imperfections are natural too. There are 15 known strains of the Covid-19 virus circulating in the world. Certain differences have been observed in different parts of the world but there is no evidence that the strain in Nepal is weak. As even young adults and children are dying, it could well be more potent. It’s too early to say. Plus, there has been no virus culture in Nepal, so this is just an untested assumption.

Last word: In my view, the only fact that we all need to believe in is that the virus is real, and is infecting millions. Hundreds of thousands are dying. And there is as yet no medication to cure it and no vaccine to ward it off. No one knows if one population has more immunity than others.

Eating garlic can definitely help you get stronger but it won’t protect you from the virus. The only proven prevention is maintaining at least 6-ft distance from people you don’t live with, washing hands regularly, wearing masks, and seeking test and help if you have fever, difficult breathing, persistent cough, and sudden loss of sense of taste and smell.

Kathmandu saw its first known starvation death last week: Surya Bahadur Tamang, who’d spent several decades hauling goods in Kathmandu, was found dead on the sidewalks of Kirtipur. He did not make enough money to rent a room for himself, so he slept on the streets. On Saturday, May 23, exactly two months after the lockdown started and all work shut down, he was found dead, still clutching the woven jute strap he used to carry loads on his back. The locals said he had no family. He’d been eating free food offered by local organizations. Yet that wasn’t enough to ward off starvation.

How many people have died already is up for debate: on Twitter, there was news of at least one other man who had died of hunger in the Tarai, news which went unreported in the national media. These are not isolated incidents but a systematic failure of justice. As time passes and the lockdown continues, there will be more starvation deaths.

In a 2017 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), almost two million people in Nepal were considered undernourished. Nepalis living in remote mountain areas had less access to food than those in the Tarai.

The government of Nepal has made no plans to feed the estimated 10-15 percent of the population—two million undernourished, plus 1.5 to potentially three million migrants who have returned from various cities of India—who already faces hunger.

On top of the lack of government preparation, we have a locust infestation, which has moved up from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh, just across Nepal’s border. The FAO estimates that the locust invasion will grow bigger by June-July, with the advent of wet weather and the monsoon. We could potentially lose much of our major crops. Coupled with this is a border dispute with India, which could again trigger a blockade similar to the one in 2015. There will be less food export to rely upon as the locusts destroy essential crops and cause food shortages within India.

The Nepal government is still focused on developing immediate response plans for the Covid-19 pandemic. The primary focus so far has been managing the health sector and implementing the lockdown. As days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, there is an urgent need to also focus on other crisis that will compound the risks from Covid-19. The most immediate threat is famine.

Many countries have started rethinking their food trade and food security status. If countries like India and China do not keep trade open and supply chains working, food security risks for Nepal could be devastating. It is therefore of utmost importance to start discussing the importance of local food production and food sovereignty for Nepal. 

The returning migrant workers, who are now only viewed as a health risk, could be Nepal’s opportunity to win back our own food self-sufficiency. There are vast tracks of empty land in the hills and mountains and even Tarai. Out-migration and labor shortage was one of the reasons for abandoned cultivable land. Therefore, we need to capitalize on this opportunity and direct the returning labor force into farming. Nepal has deep roots in agriculture, and most of our young people already know how to farm. What they need to get started is government support for seeds, fertilizers, tools, and markets.

Local governments could provide support by making land leasing easier so that ownership rights are protected but the land is not left unplanted. Water management technology, seeds fertilizers and other inputs are needed as well. The government must also set up farmer co-ops to link farmers to larger rural and urban markets. The actual approach will need to be managed at a local level. There is no single silver bullet approach. This also gives the local governments an opportunity to demonstrate their prowess.  

In Germany, when farmers needed extra help to harvest some spring crops that usually relied on migrant laborers from Eastern Europe, students from universities volunteered to help. The universities were closed due to the Covid-19 and farmers even paid the students so it was a win-win situation. The context in Nepal would be different, but we need to find a way to increase our agricultural production. We cannot leave our lands barren and simply wait for the crisis to slowly unfold. Action needs to be taken now to hire students for agricultural work, to subsidize and support women farmers, and startup farmer co-ops.

Also urgent is the need to prepare for a locust invasion. While chemical sprays can keep the most immediate swarms at bay, they may harm other beneficial insects, so we should also think about biological control of the pests. Wasps are known to be natural predators of locusts. We could ask Netherlands, which has top-notch biological pest control expertise, for help with designing an integrated pest management solution. We can also use drones as well as airplanes which can fly down towards the swarms and disperse them with noise. Scientists have shown the locusts stop swarming when there’s a lot of noise.

We should not let this crisis go to waste. Let us use this opportunity to build back our food sovereignty. What we decide to do now will determine whether we face famine or feast in the upcoming winter.

Bikash Sharma, a lab technician from Kawasoti municipality of Nawalpur district in Gandaki Province, encounters a barrage of fake news on his Facebook page every single day. A few days ago, when he read a post claiming alcoholics and youths in general do not get the novel coronavirus, he could only laugh. Yet this is no laughing matter.  

Nepali Online News, a Facebook group with 1.2 million members, had a recent ‘Breaking News’ from one Aichi Auto, claiming that the death toll from Covid-19 in Nepal had reached nine by May 26, five more than the official figure. Another post by ‘news36media’ said the coronavirus could be on the verge of ‘self-extinction’ as it mutates.

“Many of the posts are pure rumors. Sometimes they are funny, but often they mislead,” Sharma says, as he worries about their impact on unsuspecting people who spend hours scrolling their newsfeed. He himself spends around 3-4 hours a day on Facebook, filtering through the flood of fake information.

The use of social media has increased during the lockdown, and Facebook is easily the most popular social media platform in Nepal. According to Internet World Stats data, as of 31 January 2020, over 10.4 million Nepalis were using Facebook. 

Presently, all newspapers, TV channels, and radio stations use Facebook to promote their content. There is news update almost every second. Even too much of authentic news is problematic in these sad times, but when the authentic stuff is mixed with fake news, it can be doubly confusing. There are plenty of illegal ‘news’ portals that barrage Facebook newsfeed with fake news. In relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, UNESCO and WHO have often raised their concerns about the impact of such fake news.

Ashirbad Adhikari, an aircraft maintenance technician in Kathmandu, sees that in the haste of posting something interesting, people often post wrong information. “For example, people claim the number of corona infections has risen. Even the news portals don’t realize that basing such claim on Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) is misleading,” he says.

Sujan Shrestha, president of Psychbigyan Network Nepal, a youth-led initiative that promotes mental health, thinks the fear created by fake news gradually erodes people’s sense of control and fosters a sense of panic. As the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic is uncertain, people are always on the lookout for information that might make the future more certain. “Facebook newsfeed is an easy means to do that. But you may also be unnecessarily burdening your mind in the process,” Shrestha says.

This is especially problematic during the lockdown, he says, as prolonged confinement has already weakened people’s cognitive capacity.

Shrestha also mentions the danger of falling for conspiracy theories, such as Bill Gates engineering the pandemic or China creating an artificial virus to sell its products. “If an influential person posts such a conspiracy theory, a fraction of people will certainly believe it,” he adds. “And by doing so they may put their own health as well as the health of their loved ones in jeopardy.”

Pradip Dhakal, an admin of Nepali Online News, the Facebook group that has seen its fair share of fake news posted by its many members, says the act of creating and spreading fake news is a misuse of media platforms. “The registered news portals are less likely to spread fake news than the unregistered and illegal ones,” he says, adding that these illegal portals should be immediately shut. He advises people to rely only on the sites that they know are registered.

Some people blame the Facebook management for ignoring the gravity of the matter. Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and CEO of Facebook, had around a month ago assured immediate action to check the spread of fake news. He claims Facebook has marked over 4,000 pieces of Covid-19 related content as false. Yet that seems to have made little impact on creation and dissemination of fake news during these troubled times.

Over 26,000 people have entered the country from India via different border points of Sudur Paschim Province since May 14, as per security forces deployed at the border. But the provincial Social Development Ministry says only 12,367 are currently under quarantine in the province.

Locals fear that the risk of Covid-19 infection has increased as over half of the people coming from India have bypassed the two-week quarantine requirement. They are already in the villages, where there is no means to trace their health or social contacts.

On May 15 and 16, Nepali authorities had rescued 758 citizens from the ill-managed Indian quarantine posts across the border, and brought them home via Gauriphanta border point next to Dhangadhi in Kailali district. That sort of showed the way for in-bound Nepalis, and in the past two weeks, over 18,000 people have used it.

With crowds rushing to enter the country every day, there is chaos at the Gauriphanta border point these days. On May 26, some of those standing in queue fainted and mothers carrying their infants looked drained in the sun.

The District Administration Office of Kailali has ordered opening of the border from 10am till noon, but due to the long queues, it couldn’t be closed until 3pm.

Besides Gauriphanta, people are coming in via Gaddachauki of Kanchanpur, Pulghat of Darchula, and Jhulaghat of Baitadi.

The Gaddachauki border point was opened after people kept sneaking into the country via Dodhara Chandani, the Nepali village on the other side of the Mahakali. The District Administration Office of Kanchanpur has now decided to open the Gaddachauki point for four hours every day.

As illegal entries could not be stopped through the porous border, authorities thought it would be safer to allow entry and put the incoming people into quarantine. But the plan has failed.

Local government units have been assigned to manage these quarantine posts. Each ward of the municipality or rural municipality has to keep a log of people coming into the ward and put them under quarantine. But the incoming people refuse to stay there because these posts do not meet even the minimum hygiene and safety criteria. Due to their poor management, people supposed to stay there roam around in the day, go home for meals, and come back only to sleep.

The local bodies have failed to act properly, according to senior physician of Seti Zonal Hospital Prof Dr Subhesh Raj Kayastha. “It is now time for the local elected representatives to show their presence,” he says. “They should ensure that the incoming people stay in quarantine facilities.” Or the situation may soon get out of our hands, he warns.

Meanwhile, the provincial government claims all those coming from India have been quarantined. “From the border point, we put them into our vehicles and hand them over to the local bodies. The local bodies then arrange for their stay,” claims Krishna Raj Subedi, social development minister of the provincial government.