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The temporary COVID-19 hospital in Jumla has closed due to the crisis of doctors and health workers. Apart from the Chandannath municipality, there are seven rural municipalities which have COVID-19 hospitals.

Those hospitals have oxygen cylinders, concentrators and some medicines. Due to the lack of doctors and health workers in these hospitals, patients are deprived of treatment.

Sita Acharya of Sinja Rural Municipality-5 said that after the arrival of the doctor, it was easy for them to get treatment for COVID-19 and other viral and seasonal diseases. However, last week when she had gone to get the treatment, there was no one in the hospital and it was left with an only office assistant. She informed that the hospital was established a year ago.

At present, there are 50 beds, 10 of which are made of iron and 40 of which are made of wood, in the COVID hospital located in Jharjwala of Guthichaur Rural Municipality.  Filters, utensils, clothes and some medicines are also available in the hospital.

A local, Kamal Neupane, said that the hospital, which was opened with a huge budget, is now at a standstill. “The hospital was opened with great fanfare, now it could have been converted into a normal hospital and given treatment,” he said.

The Rural Municipality’s Health Coordinator Balaram Nepali said that the hospital has been closed since the return of the doctor who were sent from the Karnali Institute of Health Sciences for a month. According to him, about 1.5 million rupees were spent on the establishment and management of the hospital.

The COVID hospital of the rural municipality is going to be demolished and a 10-bed hospital is going to be built in its place. A doctor worked in that hospital for about six months. Now the hospital supplies have been moved to the Kudari health post.

Tatopani, Kanakasundari, Hima and Sinja rural municipalities are also not operating COVID hospitals. All four municipalities had spent NPR 1.5 million to build the COVID hospital.

Nabaraj Karki, a local, said the investment made in the hospital has been wasted after its closure. “We were in the hope of easy health services,” he said, “now we don’t know where the hospital goods and beds have disappeared.”

Bijaya Kumari Prasain, Chairperson of the COVID-19 Crisis Management Committee and Chief District Officer, said that after the corona infection subsided, there was no flow of services from the Covid hospital. “Medications and equipment are ready, they will be put into operation as soon as new variants are available,” she said, “Discussions are being held with the municipalities about the situation in which other health services can be provided by this human resource.”

Mandatta Rawal