Govt not to seek details of Spanish national who succumbed to COVID-19

Kathmandu, March 6

The Ministry of Health and Population has decided not to seek information about a Spanish national who died due to COVID-19. He was reported to have travelled to Nepal.

The ministry said its decision was based on the fact that the news reports were ‘unconfirmed and incomplete’ without details of the man’s travel history. Moreover, the 14-day incubation period already passed since the man’s death on February 13 in Spanish city of Valencia, according to the ministry’s Spokesperson Bikash Devkota.

“If the death had taken place recently, it would have been a matter of concern. It is not confirmed whether the man travelled and where he travelled before reaching Spain is also not known,” said Devkota.

Nepal’s Embassy in Madrid also said the Spanish authorities could not confirm whether the man travelled to Nepal, and did not reveal the man’s identity citing World Health Organisation’s protocol.

The embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Harihar Kant Poudel said he had met deputy director general of Spain’s foreign ministry, and he was told that the Spanish government could provide the details of the man only if Nepal’s health ministry made a formal request for the same in line with WHO protocol.

“I was also told that if the Spanish authorities confirmed that the man had travelled to Nepal, the Spanish government would itself send the details of the man to the Government of Nepal even if the government did not make any request for the same,” Poudel told THT over phone from Madrid.

Poudel also confirmed that Nepal’s health ministry had not yet made any such requests through the embassy.

As the global number of people infected by the virus nears 100,000 in more than 80 countries now,  Director General of World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday warned governments that the continued global spread of novel coronavirus was ‘not a drill’ and would require significant action if public health authorities were to contain the deadly outbreak.

“This is not a drill. This is not the time to give up. This is not a time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops. Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans,” said Dr Ghebreyesus.

“This epidemic can be pushed back, but only with a collective, coordinated and comprehensive approach that engages entire machinery of the government,” added Dr Ghebreyesus

 

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