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Government Issues a Slew of Orders Amid Threat of a Second Wave

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Government Issues a Slew of Orders Amid Threat of a Second Wave WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXIX No. 61 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 36.6 C 2.6 C Tuesday, April 20, 2021 | 07-01-2078 Nepalgunj Jumla HOW COVID-19 AFFECTS DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS IN NEPAL SOURCE: MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND POPULATION Breakdown of confirmed new infections by age group in Nepal from April 13 -19. Although excluded in the graph, new cases above 70 have also increased in the last seven days. INSIDE Government issues a slew of orders Poorly performing local units may see federal grant slashed KATHMANDU: Federal grants to the amid threat of a second wave local governments could be reduced for performing poorly as the federal government is introducing rules and More than 25 people cannot gather at one place; schools and places of worship among others closed till May 14. Testing and treatment made free. measures to evaluate fiduciary risks at the local level. Amid reports of ARJUN POUDEL last year, when more than 1,200 cases Mechinagar, Birtamod, Damak, increased irregularities at the local KATHMANDU, APRIL 19 were confirmed. Rajbiraj, Banepa, Dhulikhel, level, the Ministry of Federal Affairs Intensive care unit beds allocated Siddharthanagar, Birendranagar and and General Administration came up Amid a sharp rise in new cases of the for Covid-19 patients are filling up Bhimdatta municipalities. with a ‘Working Procedure on new variant of Covid-19, the Cabinet across the country. They can, however, hold pre-sched- Evaluation of Risk to Financial on Monday announced a slew of Health facilities in the Kathmandu uled examinations. Discipline at Local Level’ aiming at restrictions and directed provincial Valley have been occupied by serious- Cinemas, banquet venues, dance evaluating governance of the local and local governments to take differ- ly infected people, as people are seek- bars, dohori places, dancehalls, clubs, governments. (Details on Pg3) ent measures to check the spread of ing treatment only after their health health clubs, gyms, swimming pools the disease. conditions start to deteriorate, accord- and futsal courts have been India’s capital to lock down According to the Ministry of Health ing to doctors. shut; assemblies, political rallies, and and Population, 1,277 new cases were The number of people admitted in participation in stadiums have amid devastating virus surge recorded in the last 24 hours of which the intensive care units reached 148. been banned; and only ritual worships NEW DELHI: New Delhi imposed a 98 are in children. Kathmandu Valley Seriously ailing 43 others are on by priests are allowed at temples, weeklong lockdown Monday night to recorded 634 cases—505 are from ventilator support. gumbas, churches and mosques until prevent the collapse of the Indian Kathmandu, 97 from Lalitpur and 32 Among the decisions made on May 14. capital’s health system, which author- from Bhaktapur. Monday, the Cabinet has asked to shut No more than 25 people are ities said had been pushed to its limit Eight people have died of the coro- down schools and other academic allowed to gather at festivals, wed- amid an explosive surge in coronavi- navirus infection in the last 24 hours. institutions in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, dings, other life rituals and funerals, rus cases. In scenes familiar from Active cases stand at 7,254 as of Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bharatpur and as well as in meetings that must be surges elsewhere, ambulances cata- Monday. Pokhara metropolitan cities; Itahari, held face to face if they can’t be held pulted from one hospital to Monday was the second consecutive Dharan, Janakpur, Hetauda, Butwal, virtually. another, trying to find an empty bed day that the number of cases crossed Ghorahi, Tulsipur, Nepalgunj and Passengers are not allowed to stand over the weekend, while patients the 1,000 mark. The last time the coun- Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan cities; in public transport and all must wear lined up outside of medical facilities. try had recorded more than 1,000 cases all municipalities in Kathmandu, POST PHOTO: ELITE JOSHI masks. (Details on Pg6) in a single day was on December 10 Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts; and Schools in urban areas have been ordered to close until May 14 to stem the spread of Covid-19. >> Continued on page 2 POST PHOTO: DEEPAK KC The spire of Swayambhu stupa seen through fluttering prayer flags in Kathmandu on Monday. Schools close again but there have been no preparation for virtual learning Distance learning was not effective last year and as the virus may not go away soon, a long-term policy is required rather than seeking ad-hoc solutions, experts say. BINOD GHIMIRE be the same now.” Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur KATHMANDU, APRIL 19 During the in-person classes that he districts; and Mechinagar, Birtamod, attended for around five months, after Damak, Rajbiraj, Banepa, Dhulikhel, Tenth grader Sudip Kumar Thakur, they were allowed from September by Siddharthanagar, Birendranagar and who is preparing for the Secondary the federal government, his school Bhimdatta municipalities. Education Examination scheduled for had to revise the course covered dur- The decision came after the Ministry June, is worried. ing the earlier online classes as most of Health recommending closure of “Schools have been closed again students hadn’t grasped the course schools in 14 districts including forcing us to opt for the online class content well. Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, again,” said Thakur. “I took the online “The face-to-face learning that Kaski, Rupandehi, Chitwan, Banke, classes for months [last year] but I started a few months back had given Parsa, Kailali, Morang, Dang, Surkhet, couldn’t understand the lessons as the me confidence that I would have good Bara and Baglung, where the number curriculum demanded. It is going to performance in the Secondary of cases have been surging of late. Education Examination,” he Health experts and officials have said. “Now I am doubtful.” been concerned that a growing num- On Monday the Cabinet decid- ber of children are getting infected ed to close the schools in cities this time round. While only 4 percent until May 14 and run online of the total infected were children last classes. These include schools in year this time it is in double digits and Kathmandu, Lalitpur, estimated at 14 percent. Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bharatpur But like Thakur, for hundreds of and Pokhara metropolitan cities; thousands of students online classes or Itahari, Dharan, Janakpur, classes through the radio and televi- Hetauda, Butwal, Ghorahi, sion have not been a good one as far as Tulsipur, Nepalgunj and teaching is concerned although it may Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan cit- have been done to protect their health. ies; all municipalities in >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021 | 02 NATIONAL Gandaki Province ill-prepared for fire incidents Government Delayed response, insufficient fire engines, shortage of workers and lack of water refilling stations make disaster mitigation difficult. issues a slew of PRAKASH BARAL Madhyanepal Municipality, says the local BAGLUNG, APRIL 19 unit doesn’t have the budget to buy a fire orders amid ... engine. >> Continued from page 1 Saraswati Harijan, owner of Srijana Sundarbazar Municipality Mayor Janak If passengers don’t have masks, the conductor or Furniture in Baglung Municipality, woke up Raj Mishra shared a similar sentiment. the driver must make one available at no more than at 2am on April 11 to find her factory alight in “We can’t take the burden of hiring a Rs 10 per piece. Public transport must have sanitisers flames. In no time was she out of bed and driver and technicians for the fire engine,” as well. All means of public transport must be disin- outside her factory calling for help from her he said. fected every day. neighbours. Local units in Tanahun too have shown no Shops and offices too have to make masks available “My house is just next to the factory. I woke interest in purchasing fire engines, citing for customers and service seekers at a maximum up and rushed outside. The factory and the challenges in the management and operation price of Rs 10 and without masks they are not shop was engulfed in a huge inferno,” said of firefighting services. allowed entry. the 35-year-old. “We informed the police and “Most local units in the district are reluc- Hotels and restaurants can open only from 8 am to with their help tried to control the fire from tant to buy a fire engine because of the high 8 pm and must observe health safety protocols like spreading. The fire engine from Baglung costs of purchase and management of the seating at two metres distance, and not allowing Municipality arrived an hour later. It was too truck,” said Gangalal Subedi, chief adminis- entry to anyone without masks. late by then.” trative officer at Shuklagandaki. Public and private services providers should man- By the time two more fire engines from As of now, only Byas Municipality and age electronic methods to provide service as far as Beni in Myagdi and Kushma in Parbat Bandipur Rural Municipality in Tanahun practicable. Nepal Rastra Bank should facilitate the reached the scene, Harijan had lost proper- have fire engines. However, only one of the implementation of electronic payment systems at all ties worth around Rs 2.2 million. fire engines can be put to use while the other the banks and financial institutions. Forest and house fires are a common occur- lies unused for a lack of maintenance and The Cabinet has also directed the Ministry of rence in Nepal during the dry season, which management. Health and Population to come up with a plan to pre- starts from November-December and contin- Bandipur Chief Administrative Officer vent, control and treat Covid-19.
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