Despite a month and half of lockdown, the number of novel coronavirus cases in Nepal continues to rise. As of May 5, the number of infected has climbed to 82. Of them, 61 are male and 21 female.

Banke district’s Nepalgunj, which lies on the border with India, has emerged as the hotspot in Nepal, with 24 new infections reported in the past couple of days. In the past 24 hours, seven new cases were detected there. Local authorities have imposed a curfew to contain the virus. Authorities fear the outbreak in Nepalgunj could reach a community-transmission level.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Health, 31 people have been infected in Province 1, 13 in Province 2, 7 in Bagmati Province, 1 in Gandaki Province, 24 in Province 5, 0 in Karnali Province, and 5 in Sudurpaschim Province. 

According to the ministry, around 21,000 people are currently quarantined in various parts of the country, with 120 people in isolation. “The health condition of all infected people is normal and they continue to undergo treatment,” said Dr. Bikas Devkota, spokesperson at the ministry.

Authorities attribute the increasing number of corona cases to flexible lockdown. Even during the nationwide lockdown, people have been traveling. There has been a growing movement of people in and out of Kathmandu as well as along the Nepal-India border.

As the prolonged lockdown has badly hit the country’s economy, authorities are working on multiple models to ease the lockdown. Speaking at a parliamentary committee, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa said that the government was contemplating easing the lockdown as it could create a potential economic crisis.

Public health experts warn that easing lockdown without a massive expansion of testing could lead to a second wave of transmissions. In Nepal, the testing process has been slow. Due to the delay in purchasing testing kits, government hospitals are struggling to expand testing. It has been over a month since the decision on buying corona kits through a Government-to-Government (G-2-G) process was made. But there has been little progress since.