KATHMANDU, MARCH 24
The Ministry of Home Affairs has written to all 77 district administration offices to manage quarantine and isolation facilities in a bid to tackle any possible new wave of COVID-19, which is speculated to begin soon.
Khumkanta Acharya, information officer at the ministry told THT that the ministry, acting on the suggestion of the Ministry of Health and Population, has asked all the districts to stay prepared to tackle a second wave of coronavirus. "We have asked all the districts to take necessary precaution as well as manage quarantine and isolation facilities," Acharya said. He also said the ministry had directed them to control mass gatherings, and comply with health protocols, among others.
The ministry has given high importance to the districts sharing border with India where COVID cases are increasing rapidly of late.
"We have asked the bordering districts to maintain strict border checks, maintain record of each person crossing the border and make quarantine facilities more efficient in the border areas," Acharya said.
Last year, the government had announced a nationwide lockdown on this very day in a bid to tackle the spread of the virus. It has not been more than three months since normalcy stated returning gradually. However, the country has witnessed a fresh surge of COV- ID cases of late. Around 100 COVID cases are being reported each day.
The pandemic has already claimed more than 3,000 lives in the country, while the number of job losses has not yet been calculated.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 25, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
