Prohibitory orders in the Kathmandu Valley have been extended by a week. Home Ministry Spokesperson Chakra Bahadur Buda said prohibitory orders have been extended till next Wednesday midnight.
"Prohibitory orders in the Valley will continue till September 9 midnight," he told Setopati. "The Kathmandu District Administration Office will provide the details issuing a statement Wednesday itself.
A meeting of chief district officers (CDO) of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur on Wednesday extended the prohibitory orders until September 9 midnight.
Kathmandu CDO Janak Raj Dahal told Setopati that the prohibitions for essential goods and services have been relaxed a bit. Sale and delivery of food grains, vegetables, milk and dairy products and other essential goods and services will be allowed, and stores selling these items will be opened until 11 in the morning. They were only allowed until 9:15 am now.
Similarly, shops related to construction will be allowed to open from 2-9 pm. Vehicles carrying construction materials will also be allowed into the Valley. They were not allowed now.
The administration has also given permission to educational institutions to conduct online classes. But they should be conducted complying with the safety protocols of the Health Ministry.
CDO Dahal said those who have given swab for PCR testing after contact tracing will also be kept under observation while in home quarantine.
The Kathmandu Valley is under prohibitory orders since August 20 following a surge in COVID-19 infections. The one-week extension made last Wednesday was to expire in the midnight.
Mayors of the Kathmandu Valley earlier on Wednesday concluded that the current prohibitory orders have not broken the chain of infections and called for week-long curfew in the three districts.
A virtual meeting of the mayors concluded so and the mayors even recommended the chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur accordingly, Mayor of Madhyapur Thimi and secretary of the forum of mayors in the Valley Madan Sundar Shrestha told Setopati.
"It could not be controlled by prohibitory orders alone. The highest level of prohibitory orders is curfew," Shrestha added. "People have started to go out for morning walk citing shops are open until nine in the morning and even started evening walk. Infection is rising. We have not been able to isolate all the infected persons."
He reasoned that people will be sacred to even walk outside if curfew is imposed and action can be taken against the violators.
