Kavre, April 29

People returning from other districts and abroad are roaming freely in Kavre defying the government rule to stay in self-quarantine for at least two weeks.

Even local level have shown apathy to the government policy by not keeping returnees in quarantine centres. Following complaints that home returnees had been meeting locals and venturing out of their homes, Kavre COVID-19 Control, Prevention and Management Command Post issued a directive to local levels through local health offices to keep returnees in quarantine.

The post has directed the local levels to keep records of all home returnees, check their health and place them in quarantine mandatorily.

According to Kavre District Health Office Chief Dr Narendra Jha, the returnees have been placed in home quarantine following health check-up by local health workers. “We have asked local health facilities to keep an eye on people staying in home quarantine,” said Dr Jha.

The post has issued directive to place people who returned after a month of the government-imposed lockdown in home quarantine.

Meanwhile, 13 local levels in Kavre have set up 288 quarantine beds. Mandandeupur Municipality has kept four people, including a nine-year-old child in the quarantine for the past two days. They had returned from Bardibas, Sindhuli, three days ago. Quarantines are vacant in other local levels.

Earlier, eight people, who came from abroad were sent home after keeping them for 14 days in a quarantine facility at Mandandeupur Municipality. Likewise, 10 persons were sent home from Dhulikhel quarantine.

A total of 480 people coming from abroad have undergone rapid diagnostic test in Kavre so far. “Preparations are under way to carry out rapid diagnostic tests of people who have come in contact with foreign returnees,” said Dr Jha.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 30, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.