Everest ER Update – 14th May
A sobering update from Everest ER – 14th May.
“Our team have seen 298 patients so far and there is a lull in the activity with weather turning sour for the next few days. The celebrations of around 180 summits over the past week are tempered by the crisis going on below.
This just in from our friends at the American Himalayan Foundation – https://www.himalayan-foundation.org/
“Nepal is in crisis.”
“Just as we thought it was safe to travel to Nepal, the country plunged into a new Covid emergency following the crisis in India. International and domestic flights have been suspended until at least May 31st, schools are closed, and much of the country is in lockdown.
Since the first case was reported in Nepal on January 24, 2020, there have been 425,000 confirmed cases, and the surge continues to accelerate.
“New cases skyrocketed by 1,200% in recent weeks, with the number of recorded infections doubling every three days and positivity reaching nearly 50%. Hospitals in Kathmandu and elsewhere are overwhelmed; health workers are becoming infected; beds and oxygen supplies are so scarce that people are gasping and dying in the hallways.
“The primary driver of this surge is Nepal’s long open border with India. India’s own Covid crisis, and the easy crossborder migration, has flooded Covid into Nepal – bringing with it new and concerning variants.
“The surge is strongest in the Kathmandu Valley, but it has arrived everywhere in the country, from communities in the Terai to the Sherpas in the Khumbu, and rural areas where there is even less testing and access to emergency care.
“We are receiving urgent requests from our partners for PPE, oxygen, and other critical supplies to get them through until Nepal gets enough vaccines to curb the surge. It is heartbreaking to be in the same – or worse – position as a year ago, but relief is badly needed. AHF is doing another round of Covid relief, and we will keep you updated as we can. Thanks for staying with us.”
