Kathmandu. Concerns have emerged that Covid-19 infections will increase as the injunction was lifted in the district. The injunction issued on July 12 has been relaxed after September 15 and could result in the infection rapidly spreading if the public disregards the administration’s orders.

The administration has made some concessions after certain arguments arose that businesses should be allowed to run despite the increase in the number of infected people. Chief District Officer Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said that the injunction was relaxed while addressing the voices of the society. He explained that the infection would not spread if the public complied with the government’s request simultaneously expressing concern that the situation could worsen if the public chose to ignore it.

Chief of the Health Office in Chitwan, Deepak Babu Tiwari said that the new method of testing started after six months of lockdown. He commented, “At one stage, there was complete restriction which prevented the coronavirus from going to the community. Later when the rules loosened, it spread in the community.”

Dr. Bhoj Raj Adhikari, chairman of Bharatpur Hospital, stated that the spread of infection at the community level is also increasing the immune system. He said, “Some people have been cured of the infection without knowing it, while others have assumed that Covid-19 is a common disease.” He mentioned that the risk decreases as the number of infected people in the society increases. Dr. Adhikari also added that 68% of the people are asymptomatic while 32 percent showed symptoms. According to him, only three percent of the infected have become seriously ill. He estimated that as the lockdown lifts, the number of infected people will also increase.

Rajan Gautam, vice-president of the Federation of Nepali Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that more people had died of starvation than of disease and that the injunction and lockdown had not stopped the spread of the disease. He said that the economy should be run in a dynamic manner by fully complying with the government’s health standards.

Concerns have been raised that the infection will spread further as human traffic increases following the relatively relaxed protocols opted post-lockdown while some suggest that it may be time for all to ‘live together’ with the virus.