The COVID-19 crisis has dominated news bulletins in Nepal for the last six months, and in the past week the headlines are about rising cases and fatalities. But what is missing from the news is that the pandemic has also helped save lives.

Police statistics show that about 1,400 people were killed in Nepal in road traffic accidents between March-August 2019. This year, the figure dropped to 707 in the same period. Meanwhile, 390 people have died with COVID-19 across the country since the lockdowns began.

In those six months last year, more than 5,000 people were seriously injured in highway accidents. This year, the number of wounded was down to 1,978 between March-August. Because of the pandemic, there are therefore far fewer trauma patients in hospitals, and many of them have been saved from lifelong physical disabilities

https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/how-COVID-19-saves-lives-in-nepal/