Covid-19: Bangladesh to gift medicines, safety gear to Nepal

Bangladesh will send emergency drugs and health safety equipment to Nepal, as gifts from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Nepalese people, to help tackle the surge in coronavirus infections in the landlocked country.  

The Ministry of Commerce issued a no-objection certificate in this regard on Thursday and wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make necessary arrangements. 

The drugs include 79,500 Hydroxychloroquine tablets, 50,000 KN-95 masks, 50,000 N-95 masks, 4,50,000 surgical masks, 15,000 bottles of Sepnil Hand Sanitiser (200ml) , and 2000 bottles of Shinex floor Cleaner (5000ml), according to the no-objection certificate. 

Nepal has been witnessing a severe Covid-19 outbreak in recent days. The landlocked country saw 7,220 new infections and 185 deaths from the viral disease on Monday, according to Worldometer, a reference website that provides counters and real-time statistics for diverse topics.

The second wave of Covid-19 has dealt a devastating blow to Nepal, with families scrambling for hospital beds and bottled oxygen amid shortages of medical supplies in the country of 30 million people.

Hospitals in Kathmandu and major towns across the country are facing severe shortages of intensive care unit beds and medical oxygen, forcing Covid-19 patients to isolate at home in case of mild symptoms.