COVID19
News
3 MIN READ
A daily summary of all Covid19 related developments that matter
The total number of Covid19 cases in Nepal has reached 54 after two new cases emerged in Rautahat district on Tuesday. The infected include a 24-year-old man from Brindaban municipality and a 35-year-old man from Devahi Gonahi municipality. Both men are being kept in isolation while people who may have come in contact with them are being tracked for testing, said Bikash Devkota, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population.
With data suggesting that more than two-thirds of positive cases might have come from India, the government has increased tracking, tracing and testing in the districts adjoining India.
The Nepal Rastra Bank has directed banks and financial institutions to give 2 percent discount in loan interests to people affected by Covid19. Issuing a circular on Tuesday, the central bank has also urged institutions not to penalise borrowers for delaying payments due to the lockdown. It is not immediately clear whether the beneficiaries include only Covid19 patients or also those in quarantine. Exact data is hard to come by but more than 50,000 people are believed to have gone through the standard quarantine regimen.
Nepali migrants who were waiting to rejoin their jobs after completing their home leave will finally be able to return to South Korea. Following the request of the Korean government, the Nepalgovernment had agreed earlier this week to allow them to return to their work destination.
According to the Ministry of Labour Employment and Social Security, a Nepal Airlines flight has been chartered to send the workers, possibly next week. Local authorities are currently working to bring them to Kathmandu and complete mandatory health screening.
Bhatbhateni Supermarket, Nepal’s biggest departmental store chain, has been fined Nrs 300,000 for allegedly selling essentials at inflated prices. The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection fined the supermarket after it was found charging rates above the MRP price. According to the Consumer Protection Act, 2075, it is illegal to charge more than the MRP.
The department has also fined a penalty of Rs 100,00 to the Kapan-based MBT Food Store after it was found selling essential commodities without keeping a price list. The government has increased monitoring of grocery stores, medical centres and meat shops amid complaints of inflated price and blackmarketeering. Earlier, the government had penalised Ikalu Meat shop after it was caught selling goat meat at Rs 2,000 per kg.
Security agencies tightened restrictions on movement of private vehicles on Tuesday following reports of traffic jams in some sections of Kathmandu. On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs had raised concerns over the growing use of public vehicles in the Kathmandu Valley despite the lockdown. The use of private vehicles has grown in recent days as several institutions, including banks, are gradually resuming service amid lockdown.
According to DIG Bishwa Raj Pokharel, the police have arrested more than 100,000, over a third of whom had vehicles, for defying the lockdown.
The days spent in lockdown would be treated as public holiday, according to the
Rastriya Samachar Samittee. Citing a notice issued in the Nepal Gazette, the state-owned news agency said that the days would be considered as public holidays as per Section 2 of the Communicable Diseases Act, 2020 BS. Government offices, bodies and industries are required to do so in order to ensure that employees are still on the payroll.
The news comes as a major relief for government employees who have not been able to continue their job due to lockdown. But it is not clear whether it will apply to employees of private companies.
::::::::
The Record We are an independent digital publication based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our stories examine politics, the economy, society, and culture. We look into events both current and past, offering depth, analysis, and perspective. Explore our features, explainers, long reads, multimedia stories, and podcasts. There’s something here for everyone.
COVID19
Perspectives
11 min read
While the state of mental health of Nepalis is largely unknown, estimates and anecdotal evidence suggest that the pandemic and climate crises have exacerbated problems.
Features
4 min read
The Record is back with its mini-series of artists and the projects they worked on during the lockdown and the pandemic.
Opinions
7 min read
To keep discriminating without openly acknowledging the discrimination is the central feature of casteist beliefs in the city
COVID19
News
3 min read
A daily summary of Covid19 related developments that matter
Features
COVID19
4 min read
Experts warn that increased, unfettered mobility of people across the country will increase Covid-19 spread
News
COVID19
6 min read
With cases surging in the thousands, Nepal has entered the inevitable third Covid-19 wave. Our best defense still remains to mask up, maintain social distancing, and vaccinate.
Perspectives
Visitor’s Post
8 min read
Two steps forward, one step back, another step sideways?
COVID19
Features
9 min read
No timeline has been made public yet for COVAX’s second shipment of vaccines nor the 4 million doses that Nepal is reportedly purchasing from China.