Valley DAOs issue week-long prohibitory orders starting Thursday

KATHMANDU, April 26: The three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have issued prohibitory orders amid the exacerbating COVID-19 crisis in the country’s most populous city. 

A joint meeting of the chief district officers (CDOs) of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts decided to enforce the prohibitory orders for a week-- from April 29 to May 7 in view of the rising risk of COVID-19 triggered by the new variant of the virus. 

The three District Administration Offices (DAOs) in the Kathmandu Valley issued separate orders on Monday evening putting restrictions on various services and activities in the Kathmandu Valley. The new orders will come into force from 6AM on April 29 and end on May 5 midnight. 

According to the orders issued separately by three DAOs,      conferences, seminars, training centers, cinema halls, party palaces, swimming pools, shopping malls, entertainment sites, saloons, beauty parlors, gym and fitness centers, sports activities, libraries and zoos are not allowed to be operated.

Similarly, all the private vehicles and public transportation services except for those designated as emergency ones are also restricted. Ambulances and those vehicles carrying emergency goods, health professionals and medical supplies, however, will be allowed to operate during this period. 

All other services except for the emergency ones are prohibited, according to the orders. Services allowed during the period include operation and transportation of drinking water, food stuff, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, banks and financial institutions, internet, COVID-19 quarantine and isolation facilities and waste management. 

Similarly, all the shops and business activities will remain shut down except for those selling food items, medicines and medical supplies. Only the grocery section of the departmental stores are allowed to open. They will remain open until 10 AM in the morning and between 5 PM to 7 PM in the evening.

The district administrations asked those allowed to operate their services to strictly abide by the health protocol issued by the health ministry.