Dhanusha, August 19

The government of Province 2 has stepped up its preparations to go to the court against medical colleges and private health facilities for their non-cooperation in the control and prevention of coronavirus pandemic.

A meeting of the Province Crisis Management Centre held at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers yesterday decided to reach the court to challenge the province-based medical colleges along with other private health facilities’ non-cooperation in the government’s efforts to contain the coronavirus infection.

The meeting decided to form a coordination committee under the premiership of Minister of Social Development and entrust this committee with the responsibility of holding discussion with medical colleges and private health facilities on the issue of corona management in the first phase. Also, the meeting decided to use medical colleges and private health facilities for coronavirus treatment as per the federal government’s designated rates.

If the health facilities continue to remain uncooperative in providing treatment to infected people, the provincial government will write to the federal government to take action as well as terminate the registration of health facilities and also take ahead the legal process against them.

Further, the provincial government has directed the authorities concerned to immediately enforce the decisions reached earlier in connection with the prevention and control of the virus.

Chief Minister Lalbabu Raut said the provincial government was compelled to take bold decisions to save people’s lives in this very critical time of the pandemic and also urged all sides to lend support to the fight against the virus.

The meeting has directed the Ministry of Social Development to fill the lack of human resources in containing the spread of the virus and also to honour the doctors, health workers and security personnel performing their best in the campaign against coronavirus.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 20, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.