COVID-19 death toll of Nepalis abroad climbs to 143

KATHMANDU, JULY 5

Thirteen more Nepalis living abroad died from the COVID-19 infection in the past one week, taking the death toll to 143.

A press release issued by Non-resident Nepali Association said six Nepalis in the United Arab Emirates, five in India and one each in Oman and Kuwait died of the virus as of yesterday evening.

“With 13 new fatalities, death toll of Nepalis living abroad has climbed to 143 in 14 countries,” read the release.

Foreign countries where Nepali succumbed to the COVID-19 are United Kingdom, UAE, Saudi Arabia, the United States of America, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Ireland, Japan, Turkey, the Netherlands, Sweden, India and Oman.

Dr Sanjeev Sapkota, coordinator of NRNA health committee said the number of coronavirus infections among the Nepalis living abroad went down in countries except those in the Middle East over the period of past one week.

According to NRNA, as many as 28,918 Nepalis have contracted the virus in more than 34 foreign countries. Of them, 25,226 persons have recovered from the disease.

NRNA said as many as 18,293 Nepalis had been rescued and sent home from 21 countries over the period of past three weeks. Bodies of 115 Nepalis, who died in foreign countries due to various reasons during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, were airlifted to Nepal.

“There were a total of 352 bodies of Nepali citizens. Of them, 115 were sent home and final rites of 132 deceased were performed in the concerned destination countries at the consent of the concerned families back home. Bodies of 105 persons have yet to be managed,” read the release.

Issuing a separate press release, NRNA said it entered into an agreement with International Labour Organisation, Nepal, on June 29 to implement ‘COVID-19 Response to Nepali Migrant Workers for Repatriation and Return Project’ in five countries Nepal, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAEs.

As a part of ILO’s Migrant Rights and Decent Work Project, with financial assistance from the Government of Switzerland, this initiative aims to collaborate with Nepali missions in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE to provide services for Nepali migrant workers affected by COVID-19, legal/paralegal assistance and short-term shelter support for most vulnerable Nepali migrant workers and support the Government of Nepal in providing safe and secure transit services for those returning back to Nepal.

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A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 6, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post COVID-19 death toll of Nepalis abroad climbs to 143 appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

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