Arab sheikh lands in Nepal with 2,000 doses of gift vaccines

KATHMANDOU.- The sheikh landed at Kathmandu airport with a dozen companions. He came for the second time in less than a year to challenge the insurmountable peaks of the Himalayas. But it was not their large entourage of guards and assistants that surprised the Nepalese migration agents, but the strange burden with which they disembarked.

In addition to the cumbersome mountaineering equipment with which the Sheikh planned to climb Mount Everest, the officers were amazed to discover that Mohammed Hamad Mohammed Al Khalifa, recently arrived from Bahrain, on the Persian Gulf, brought a small container containing 2,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine.

The sheikh, who flew to Kathmandu on Monday, planned to donate AstraZeneca injections to a village, the Nepalese embassy in Bahrain said.

“It was introduced without following due process and without the prior consent of our office. We are investigating and will decide if it can be used. “said Santosh KC, a spokesperson for the Department of Medication Administration.

The prince’s group, which includes members of the Bahraini Royal Guard, were returning to Nepal after climbing 8,163-meter Mount Manaslu and 6,119-meter Lobuche last October. At the time, there was a ban on foreign visitors due to the pandemic, but Nepal made an exception and granted them a permit.

Nepal has just reopened its borders to climbers, and the prince and his team were among the first to arrive after the virus’s season ended last year at the world’s highest peak.

The pandemic has been a devastating blow to thousands of people in Nepal, from guides to hoteliers, who depend on the climbing industry for their livelihood.

Nepal launched a vaccination campaign in January after receiving one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from neighboring India, the same vaccine that contained the shipment the sheikh brought with him.

Mountaineers must now be quarantined for seven days and test negative before embarking on their expedition. It remains to be seen whether the doses will reach the village the prince had planned or whether the Nepalese government will give them another destination.

Agencia AFP

THE NATION