KHOTANG, JULY 3

A 10-bed holding centre has been established in Diktel, the district headquarters of Khotang, for returnees.

According to Chief District Officer and District COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre coordinator Shaligram Sharma Poudel, Nepali Army personnel and Red Cross staff jointly established the holding centre at Pancha Secondary School in Diktel. The centre is meant to accommodate people, who come from outside the district and abroad, in a bid to prevent them from visiting their homes directly. The centre was handed over to the COVID-19 Prevention and Control District Coordination Committee, Khotang.

“As returnees have to stay over in several places on their way home, that could pose risk of the virus spread. The holding centre will accommodate returnees before they are received by concerned local levels,” Poudel said. Khotang Chamber of Commerce and Industry has pledged Rs 20,000 to provide food for persons to be kept in the holding centre.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 4, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.