COVID issue order: What should be done

The government has issued an order on prevention and control of the third wave of the Covid-19 with a new variant Omicron, 2078 BS. Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said that an order has been issued for the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of the third wave of Covid-19 epidemic including the new variant Omicron which is spreading in the form of a global epidemic.

The government has decided not to conduct all kinds of public meetings, processions,  or gatherings till mid-January. The order stipulates that activities such as seminars, workshops, reviews, and meetings should be conducted through virtual means and physical presence should be carried out in compliance with public health standards, and antigen testing and report negative should be allowed to be carried out with a maximum of 25 people.

According to the order, while conducting such activities, only those who have been fully vaccinated after the 7th of this month should be present. The government has decided not to run cinema halls, dance bars, rehearsal dance halls, clubs, health clubs, gyms, swimming pools, futsal, markets, and all other crowded programs till January 30.

According to the order, schools, universities, colleges, tuition centers, and other educational activities will not be conducted in physical presence till January 30, said Karki. The order calls for conducting educational and teaching-learning activities through virtual media.

Pre-determined school and college examinations, manpower recruitment examinations, foreign language examinations for foreign employment, and all kinds of medical education examinations will be conducted in compliance with public health standards.

It is mentioned in the order that worship, meditation, and prayer should be done till mid-January by following the standards of public health in religious places including monasteries, mosques, and churches. The government has ordered that there should not be more than 25 people in shopping malls, department stores, and other types of shops at a time. The government has also said that no luggage should be touched unnecessarily and that a distance of at least two meters should be maintained between the two persons and that the mask should be mandatory, washing hands frequently with soapy water and sanitizing it.

It will be the responsibility of the owner or operator to ensure that the public health standards are followed. Only a maximum of 50 people should be present at the party palace at a time so as not to exceed one-third of the total capacity and approval from the concerned district administration is required. The government has decided to allow religious and cultural and social programs such as marriage, fasting, navaran and pasni to be conducted by observing public health standards including physical distance.

When playing with spectators in the stadium, only one-third of the total capacity will be available for public health. At the expense of the project, one-third of the spectators will have to arrange for antigen testing on the basis of random selection. Only those who have completed the vaccination in such sports after January 22 will be allowed to enter the stadium on the basis of the vaccination card. It is mentioned that there should not be more than 50 persons in the essential traditional religious and cultural activities including religious or cultural processions.