Easing of restrictions in some sectors being discussed

KATHMANDU, JUNE 13

The District Administration Offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are likely to extend lockdown in Kathmandu valley for another week, albeit with some changes in modality, from June 15.

The ongoing prohibitory period is scheduled to end on Monday at midnight.

District officials had enforced prohibitory orders from April 29 following the surge in Covid-19 cases in Kathmandu Valley with the advent of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

It has been learnt that DAOs have decided to prolong the lockdown period in the valley for which the three Chief District Officers are scheduled to meet today.

The CDOs are reportedly planning to continue the restrictions after the Ministry of Health and Population warned that lifting the regulations could be counter-productive as the infection rate is still high in the valley.

However, the authorities are planning to ease the restrictive measures in some sectors including agriculture, banking and finance, and industries.

Officials are also mulling over taking a decision in regard to allowing grocery stores to operate in the morning as well as in the evening.

Similarly, private vehicles are likely to be allowed to ply the valley roads in correspondence to the odd-even rule, while complying with health guidelines.

As of Saturday, there were 15,683 active cases in Kathmandu valley alone, of which 391 infections were reported in the capital city while Lalitpur and Bhaktapur reported 130 and 77 cases respectively.

It is also to be noted that the number of PCR tests carried out on a daily basis has decreased significantly of late.