Nepali gov't body suggests restricting large gatherings, closure of schools over surging COVID-19 cases
KATHMANDU, Jan. 10: A government body in Nepal on Sunday recommended restrictive measures against large gatherings and in-person classes in response to rising daily COVID-19 cases.
The COVID-19 Crisis Management Coordination Center (CCMCC) suggested banning gathering of more than 25 people and closing primary and secondary schools till Jan. 29.
Within this period, the Ministry of Health and Population will have to supply vaccines to inoculate students aged 12-17 and fully vaccinate teachers and other staff members.
A senior CCMCC official told Xinhua that the decision was taken over suggestions by Health Ministry officials.
"There is a projection that the COVID-19 situation may worsen in the third week of January, so we decided to recommend restrictive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19," said the official who declined to be named.
As suggested by the CCMCC, people need to present their vaccination cards for entering public places like offices, hotels, restaurants, cinema halls, stadiums, airports and parks.
The center also recommended the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to arrange domestic flights so that there are no crowds in airports and make it mandatory for passengers to produce vaccination cards starting from Jan. 17.
The restrictive measures will go into force once government ministries decide to implement them.
Schools in the Kathmandu Valley reopened in late September last year after being shut down for some five months to curb a second wave of the coronavirus.
Nepal confirmed 24 new cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Friday, after three infections by the variant were identified in December last year.
On Sunday, the South Asian country reported 841 new COVID-19 cases, a sharp rise from 213 logged on Jan. 2.
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