We Are Not In Favor of Immediately Enforcing Lockdown: Ministry of Health

Jan 18, Kathamndu-  Ministry of Health and Population has stated that it is not in favor of immediately enforcing lockdown.

In today's meeting of the House of Representatives (HOR), Education and Health Committee held on Tuesday said Secretary of the Ministry Dr. Roshan Pokharel said that the ministry was against the lockdown.

Pokharel said ministry further said the ministry was sensitive in not putting the battling economy in trouble due to lockdown. “If any sector is deemed to be shut we will do the needful decision and resume the sectors after two-three weeks”.  Secretary Pokharel said that the management was a bit uneasy as the school was closed even though it was conducting vaccination for children under 18 years of age.

He informed that the vaccines meant for the Terai region could not be administered there some days ago due to cold waves and foggy weather so they were brought back to Bhaktapur and administered accordingly.

Minister of State for Health and Population Bhawani Prasad Khapung said a challenge surfaced in speeding up the task of vaccination due to inadequate coordination between the province and local levels. The data accuracy has also been found to be a problem in some areas, he added.

Committee member Man Bahadur Biswokarma urged the government to expedite the campaign of inoculating vaccines to the citizens against the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Likewise, another committee member Yogesh Bhattarai said vaccination service has not been provided to more than 150,000 a day though it was announced to inoculate 500,000 people every day.

Another member Khagaraj Adhikari said the students pursuing MBBS can also be mobilized in treating the people after imparting necessary training. Committee member Jeewan Ram Shrestha said infection has spread in communities when the citizens returning home via borders are being permitted to enter villages without screening.

Another committee member Bidhya Bhattarai asked the government to arrange inoculation for the people with disability and the physically challenged at their doorstep.