There are no hospital beds available, even for doctors and their families. Covid has exposed everybody’s vulnerability, except our leaders. Hospitals have run out of oxygen, and desperate calls on social media appealing for healthcare fill everyone’s feeds. Oxford University’s data tracking site shows a staggering 668% increase in confirmed Covid cases in the two weeks to 1 May, compared with the previous fortnight. On that day, the Red Cross reported that, nationally, 44% of all tests were positive.
There are fewer than 600 ventilators for the entire country. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that Nepal will need well over 10,000 ventilators by 24 May. Health officials confirm that the resources to operate ventilators are equally limited. “Even if we have the ventilators, what can we do without oxygen?” said one official, as his phone kept ringing with pleas for more oxygen. My social media feed is also full of calls for ICU beds and the therapeutic drug Remdesivir.