COVID-19 Infection in Nepal: Epidemiological Analysis

Abstract

Nepal saw its first COVID-19 case on January 23, 2020. Since then, Nepal has suffered from three waves of COVID-19. The goal of this paper is to conduct an epidemiological analysis of COVID-19 in Nepal and compare the changes in morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 over the course of two periods. The first period is defined as April 1, 2020- March 31, 2021. The second period is defined as April 1, 2021- March 31, 2022. Relevant variables were collected from Daily Situation Reports provided by the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal. The main findings were the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths due to COVID-19 were higher in Period 2 in comparison to Period 1. Period 2 had a higher average recovery rate in comparison to Period 1. Majority of cases during both periods were male and in the 21-40 age category. The distribution of cases was more even amongst males and females in Period 2 in comparison to Period 1. Most cases reported during both periods were from Bagmati Province, which also had the most RT-PCR testing centers during both time periods. In terms of preventative measures, Period 2 had vaccination data reporting and a greater number of tests conducted in comparison to Period 1. Compared to the world, Nepal contributes a low mortality burden due to COVID-19. In addition, most Nepalese are vaccinated against COVID-19 (63.4%), which is comparable to India (62.50%) and the world (67.1%). The results from this study can be used to better implement prevention strategies in Nepal for future outbreaks.