Open borders with India represent a major challenge in stemming the spread of coronavirus. With cases in India peaking, entry points on Nepal-India border have been put on high alert. Birgunj, the busiest Nepal-India gateway, is often regarded as Nepal’s Covid-19 hotspot. This time too, the city has seen cases steadily rise. Pratik Ghimire of ApEx talked to Vijay Kumar Sarawagi, mayor of Birgunj Metropolitan City, to know about their preparations and plans to contain the spread.

How are your preparations for the third wave?

Having fought valiantly against the two previous waves, Birgunj is ready to deal with the new wave with the help of our added manpower and resources. We have focused on Narayani Hospital where we have installed an automatic oxygen plant with the capacity to fill over 200 oxygen cylinders a day and oxygen lines have been added to over 600 beds, to be fed directly from the plant. As unvaccinated children are vulnerable, we have established a special child ward with all instant facilities. 

Besides, we have added health desks at borders and increased the number of community contact tracing teams. Vaccination has also picked up in our metro.

What is the state of your isolation centers?

Our isolation centers have not been used as almost every covid infected individual is isolating in their homes. Moreover, it looks like this wave is less harmful as even those who are admitted to hospitals are being discharged within a week. We have also not allowed a single person to enter Nepal without a negative antigen test. Yet, for an emergency, we have built a 400-bed holding center, which can also be used for isolation.

Also read: Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya: Commission ready to hold local elections on April 27

There seems to be a lack of public awareness in the metropolitan city. How can you convince citizens to follow health protocols?

We admit that the virus has already spread in the community because almost 70 percent of those being tested are returning positive results. Many with mild symptoms are not even getting tested. They are rather self-isolating in their homes. We are encouraging them to test through various digital campaigns and are also planning to provide door-to-door PCR services. The District Administrative Office (DAO) has been monitoring compliance of protocols, and imposing a fine of Rs 100 on those violating the rules. We also provide masks to those who appear without them in public places.

Birgunj has vaccinated 57 percent of its eligible population, and many have even received doses from India. So, tentatively, over 80 percent of our citizens are vaccinated. As it is common to have a cold during the winter, people might ignore mild symptoms. Our metro has almost 30,000 children above 12 who are eligible for vaccines, and 20,000 of them have already been vaccinated. We are waiting for vaccines for minors under 12.

How much has the metro spent on covid crisis management?

We have allocated Rs 30 million for it but the fund has barely been spent as provincial and central governments have taken care of most expenses.

How has the coordination been with other governments and departments?

There is no problem between us and the DAO. But coordination among municipalities is lacking. For instance, as Birgunj is more developed compared to surrounding areas, people from neighboring municipalities come to Narayani Hospital, which is causing an overload. We have to manage logistics for that. With more support from provincial and federal governments as well as municipalities, we will surely be in a position to provide better services.