A sharp rise of Covid-19 case numbers in Nepal leads to renewed discussions about school closures. The failure of new supplies of vaccine doses brings Nepal’s immunization campaign to a halt.

Only four weeks ago nothing pointed to a new wave of Corona. Schools and sports venues as well as bars have had returned to normal operations. Now, new mutations seem to have reached the country. Last Friday, Nepal reported four times more cases than in mid-March.

Especially concerning for Usthi is the fact that in comparison to last year significantly more children are contracting the virus and showing symptoms. Therefore, the Ministry of Health endorses the closure of schools, which would be a big challenge for school operators. The experience of the last year showed that neither the students nor the schools are adequately equipped. While the government has already postponed the end of the ongoing academic year by two months, another school closure could delay it once again.

An improvement of the situation is hardly in sight. Nepal is impatiently waiting for more vaccine doses to arrive. Against India’s promise not to ban the export of vaccines, the supply is now temporarily on hold, which leaves Nepal with the big uncertainty of when to be able to pick up their vaccination drive again.

While Usthi originally had planned to work on the improvement of the infrastructure, the foundation now focuses on supporting the schools in Janajagriti und Bagbhairab for their possible transition to distance learning. As in the previous year, this implies the provision of learning materials with which the children could continue learning from home in case that the schools are closed again.

Usthi hopes that new measures will be taken in time, to counteract the number of cases and hence allow the schools to stay open.