Critical fortnight

Nepal's Covid-19 response needs to see a radical departure from the shot in the dark decisions to avert another crisis.

Close to a year and a half into the Covid-19 pandemic, the government continues to gamble with people's lives. Like the Oli administration, the new Deuba administration has shown little grit or urgency to swiftly do what's needed to chart a prevention and exit strategy amid a never-ending threat of a new second virus wave peak. A public health emergency of this scale would warrant that prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba immediately appoint a health minister and spearhead the country's Covid-19 response instead of leaving such an essential task in the hands of bureaucrats and security personnel. But continuing in his predecessor's footsteps, a complacent Deuba has also prioritised politics over public health.