The Latest: Swiss fly COVID-19 medical supplies to Nepal
The Swiss government has flown much needed equipment and medical supplies to combat COVID-19 to help Nepal, which is struggling with a failing health system and acute shortages of hospital beds, medication and oxygen for patients
May 22, 2021, 12:15 PM
11 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleFILE- In this April 8, 2021, file photo, a note informing about the non-availability of COVID-19 vaccine is seen pasted on a wall of a vaccination centre in Mumbai, India. India, the world’s largest maker of vaccines, was expected to play a pivotal role in global efforts to immunize against COVID-19. But its own capacity is proving to be insufficient for its own massive needs amid a ferocious surge of new infections. In past weeks, many people wanting to get vaccines have been turned away. Experts say that this is due to bad planning. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)
KATHMANDU, Nepal — The Swiss government has flown $8 million of much needed equipment and medical supplies to combat COVID-19 to help Nepal, which is struggling with a failing health system and acute shortages of hospital beds, medication and oxygen for patients.
The aid was handed over to Nepal’s Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi at Kathmandu airport on Saturday. The Swiss embassy in Nepal said the shipment contained 40 ventilators, oxygen concentrators, 1.1 million coronavirus test kits, face masks, gloves and protective suits.
Nepal has been appealing for help from the international community since the COVID-19 situation worsened sharply this month. A lockdown has been imposed in most parts of the country since last month to curb the spiking cases.
Nepal has recorded nearly 500,000 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 6,024 people have died.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Pfizer-BioNTech pledge 2B doses to less wealthy nations
— Germany opens beer gardens, cafes; Chancellor Merkel urges caution
— IOC VP: Tokyo Olympics will be held despite state of emergency
— Sniffing Labrador retrievers join Thai coronavirus fight
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Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka halted passenger trains and buses for four days as authorities imposed a fresh travel ban across the country, in its latest efforts to curb the escalating number of COVID-19 infections and deaths.
The ban is effective from Friday night until Tuesday morning. However, it will not apply to those engaged in essential services such as the health, food and power sectors, and those seeking medical treatment.
The move comes as the island’s key medical associations demand the government lockdown the country for two weeks. The associations say the actual number of coronavirus infections is more than three times the number detected.
Sri Lanka has already banned public gatherings, parties, weddings and closed schools and universities.
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MOBILE, Ala. -- Alabama’s port city of Mobile has put on a Mardi Gras-style parade, what seemed at least a little like the Carnival celebrations canceled earlier this year because of the pandemic.
Plastic beads and other trinkets flew as nearly 30 floats from Mardi Gras groups snaked through downtown Mobile on Friday night.
Thousands of people turned out in a county and state where only about a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated. Many went without masks, though health officials had urged personal responsibility.
The parade marks the commissioning of the Navy’s new ship USS Mobile, a shallow-water combat vessel manufactured in Mobile.
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BATON ROUGE, La. — A medical center in Louisiana said Friday that it has identified the state’s first two cases of a COVID-19 variant first identified in India.
Britain and the World Health Organization consider it a variant of concern because experts think it may spread more easily than the original virus, LSU Health Shreveport said Friday.
