KATHMANDU: The increasing trend of Nepalis falling victim to coronavirus outside the country has come to a halt. No deaths were reported last week, according to Non-resident Nepalis Association.

Likewise, there has been a significant reduction in the infection rate, with around 9,000 Nepalis recovering from the virus.

As of Saturday, 17,792 Nepalis were infected with coronavirus, with 127 deaths so far in different countries, according to Coordinator of NRNA health committee Dr. Sanjiv Sapkota.

Deaths of Nepalis have been reported in the UK, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Ireland, Japan, Turkey, the Netherlands, the USA and Sweden.

Expanding the scope of relief support to the Nepalis affected by the pandemic, the NRNA this week provided support to pregnant women and children in Kuwait and the UAE, according to treasurer Mahesh Shrestha.

So far, the NRNA has provided Rs. 6.6 million in support of the Nepalis affected by COVID-19 in different parts of the globe.

As of Thursday, the NRNA has helped rescue more than 500 Nepali stranded in different countries. With the support from the government of Kuwait, 299 Nepalis returned home on Thursday, according to NRNA Chair Kumar Pant. Another, 2,991 Nepalis will be repatriated to their home country from Kuwait.

The NRNA also held a video conferencing discussion on Wednesday with the International Organization of Migration.

The team led by NRNA Chair Pant held a discussion about the support that IOM could provide to rescue and repatriate Nepalis with the Nepal Mission chair Laurena Landa, said NRNA Vice-chair, Dr Badri KC. RSS