Ex-minister Baskota overstates number of Covid testing labs

Sanjog Shiwakoti / November 24, 2020

Former minister Baskota speaking at a school function in Panauti on November 23. Photo: Youtube grab

Central committee member of the ruling Nepal Communist Party and former communications minister Gokul Prasad Baskota speaking at a function at Bhaleshwar Secondary School in Panauti Municipality in Kavrepalanchowk on November 23 said:

“Currently tests for Covid are being conducted in around 97 places [in the country].” [Go to 5 mins 25 seconds into the video].

South Asia Check fact-checked Baskota’s statement and found it to be an exaggeration.

According to the daily “Situation Report #288” published by the Ministry of Health and Population on November 23, only 77 labs across the country are currently conducting tests for Covid-19. Of these, 44 are government labs and 33 are private ones. This shows Baskota’s claim is an overstatement.

This material is copyrighted but may be used for any purpose by giving due credit to southasiacheck.org.
Comments

Recommended Read

Shashank Koirala significantly understates Nepal’s arable land area Shashank Koirala said Nepal has 1.7 million hectares of arable land. In fact, Nepal's arable land area is 4.121 million hectares. Read More
PM’s suggestion of salt water gargle as home remedy for Covid is misleading The prime minister also said some people had earlier made fun of him for suggesting salt water gargle as a home remedy for Covid-19. Read More
Old photo photoshopped to show Indian flag in February 10 demonstration We found that the original photo, which does not contain the Indian flag, was published almost a month and a half ago by the Nepali-language daily Annapurna Post on its website. Read More