European aid continues to arrive in Nepal, vaccines expected by end of year
Jun 08, 2021
Kathmandu [Nepal], June 8 : Medical aid from various European Countries has continued to land in Nepal to combat COVID-19, while COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be provided by the end of the year.
Addressing a press conference, German Ambassador to Nepal, Roland Schafer said: "The European Union is the biggest provider of vaccines worldwide. We have been providing two hundred and 40 million dosages worldwide. It is the same amount of vaccine that we have used inside the European Union. Right now we have a commitment from European vaccine producers that they will provide 1.2 billion dosage by the end of year to be shared with small and lower income countries including Nepal."
The event was organised at the tarmac of Tribhuwan International Airport, which is committed to provide the vaccines to the Himalayan Nation by the end of 2021. It is the third aid that Nepal has received from Germany under European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism in less than a week.
A total of 62 ventilators, 27,500 FFP2 mask, 30,000 surgical masks, 100 gum boots, 200 body bags, five isolation center tents, and 25,000 liters of disinfectant arrived on Tuesday, as per the release from Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The materials were handed over to Minister for Health and Population, Sher Bahadur Tamang by German Ambassador Schafer. Ambassadors of the Delegation of the European Union, France and Finland were also present on the occasion.
After hitting a peak in May, Nepal has continued to record a sliding number of infections. Nepal as per today recorded 5,153 new cases of COVID-19 with 6,570 recoveries and 108 deaths.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health and Population, a total of 12,065 PCR tests and 5,611 antigen tests were conducted across the country. Of them, 3,870 PCR tests and 1,383 antigen tests turned out to be positive.
There are currently 76,550 COVID-19 patients in home isolation, 6,186 in institutional isolation, 1,321 in ICUs and 372 on ventilators in the country. Likewise, Kathmandu Valley recorded 1,226 new cases of COVID-19 on the same day. Of them, 836 were detected in Kathmandu, 121 in Bhaktapur and 269 in Lalitpur districts.
Nepal's COVID-19 case tally now stands at 611,308 including 504,540 recoveries and 8,098 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.
