In a scene reminiscent of last year, tens of thousands of people thronged Kathmandu’s main bus terminals to get out of the capital ahead of Thursday’s Covid-19 lockdown.
Most are leaving for their home districts in whatever trasport they can find: riding on top of buses, on the back of pickups or in taxis. The three district administrations in Kathmandu Valley on Monday announced a week-long prohibitory order from 29 April-5 May as the country confronts a rising trajectory of Covid-19 cases and deaths.
A similar announcement of a lockdown on 24 March 2020 saw an exodus of an estimated one-third of Kathmandu Valley’s population. Many who could not find transport walked for weeks from Kathmandu to remote districts.
Nepal recorded 3,556 new Covid-19 cases on Monday of which 1,912 were in Kathmandu Valley, with 1,567 in Kathmandu, 223 in Lalitpur and 122 in Bhaktapur. There were 12 additional deaths, bringing the official total to 3,176. Meanwhile, the positivity rate has risen more steeply in the second wave to more than 30%, compared to less than 4% in February, while there are nearly 20,000 active cases.
These photos taken at the Bus Park in Gongabu on Tuesday afternoon show people not caring about keeping physical distance to crowd around ticket counters, potentially risking a community spread of the virus. In the past month, hundreds of thousands of Nepalis have also returned from India, and tests at the border have shown that up to 10-15% of those tested were positive, or had been infected with Covid-19.
Read also: The Covid tsunami, Editorial
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