KATHMANDU: Health Ministry Spokesperson Dr Bikash Devkota clarified today that there will be no pay cuts in salaries of health workers on contrary to some media reports stating otherwise.

Speaking at the Ministry's regular press briefing on Friday, Dr Devkota stated that there is no truth to reports regarding pay cuts of health practitioners.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on March 24 had decided that civil servants at various levels of government would have to provide three to seven days' salaries to a fund established by Government for prevention and control of Coronavirus transmission. "Ministry of Health and Population has issued no such directive," Devkota stressed.

Likewise, the spokesperson also provided an update on the number of tests done. "As many as 630 samples have been collected for testing in the last 24 hours. Till date, 3,524 people have been screened for the novel Coronavirus infection."

The spokesperson was quick to urge retired health professionals and scholarship medics to join the initiative to control and prevent spread of the pandemic.