After 120 days, the government has lifted the lockdown – which was imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus) – from Tuesday midnight.
The government had imposed lockdown from March 24 and revised in various stages, which has led to an almost complete halt in economic and social activities bleeding the economy red.
Spokesperson of the government, minister for Communication and Information Technology Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada confirmed that the government has decided to lift the lockdown with some sectors still under restrictions. “The educational institutions will remain closed until further decision, though admissions for new sessions will start from August 17.”
Likewise, the government has also decided to allow the hotels and restaurants to resume their businesses and services. “They can open from July 30,” he said, adding that holding feasts with large crowds, however, will not be allowed. “Businesses related to travel, tourism, trekking and mountaineering will, however, resume services from July 30.”
“A meeting of the Council of Ministers yesterday had decided to lift temporary ban on all international and domestic flights in the country,” he said, adding that the cabinet has also lifted ban on long-haul transport services, which will also resume from August 17. The short-distance transportation and movement of private vehicles – with odd and even number – has already resumed after the last revision.
With the resumption of both domestic and international flights starting from August 17, the government has also directed the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation to prepare safety protocol.
According to the ministry, the tourism industry that incurred a loss of over Rs 10 billion a month during the Covid-19-induced nationwide lockdown. “The ministry will first finalise safety protocols by holding consultations with stakeholders concerned,” according to tourism secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari.
“The flights will be resumed in three phases,” he said, adding, “In the first phase, flights will be operated to the destinations that are less affected by Covid-19.” After that, flights will be operated to other destinations in the second and third phases. During the first phase of flight resumption, the airline companies will not be allowed to operate all their aircraft at once. “Permission to operate aircraft will be given based on the destination and the number of passengers,” he said, adding that the ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Health and Population for safety of the passengers travelling through commercial flights, if any health issue arises.
The Ministry of Health and Population is also going to prepare a new guidelines on handling of the arriving air passengers after August 17. “All passengers, who plan to arrive Nepal on charter or repatriation flights until August 16 should go to quarantine centres,” Adhikari said, adding that passengers of the scheduled commercial flights must also show their PCR report to enter Nepal thereafter. “The passengers of the scheduled international flights might also be ordered to go for self-quarantine even after producing the PCR test report.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and the airlines companies are also preparing standard operating procedures to resume domestic and international flights.
Once the commercial flights start operating, the Department of Tourism is also planning to issue climbing permits for the autumn season. The department has already started preparing necessary guidelines – with Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for agencies – for climbers and trekkers, who plan to visit Nepal after August 17.
The government had imposed lockdown from March 24 and revised in various stages, which has led to an almost complete halt in economic and social activities bleeding the economy red.
Spokesperson of the government, minister for Communication and Information Technology Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada confirmed that the government has decided to lift the lockdown with some sectors still under restrictions. “The educational institutions will remain closed until further decision, though admissions for new sessions will start from August 17.”
Likewise, the government has also decided to allow the hotels and restaurants to resume their businesses and services. “They can open from July 30,” he said, adding that holding feasts with large crowds, however, will not be allowed. “Businesses related to travel, tourism, trekking and mountaineering will, however, resume services from July 30.”
“A meeting of the Council of Ministers yesterday had decided to lift temporary ban on all international and domestic flights in the country,” he said, adding that the cabinet has also lifted ban on long-haul transport services, which will also resume from August 17. The short-distance transportation and movement of private vehicles – with odd and even number – has already resumed after the last revision.
With the resumption of both domestic and international flights starting from August 17, the government has also directed the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation to prepare safety protocol.
According to the ministry, the tourism industry that incurred a loss of over Rs 10 billion a month during the Covid-19-induced nationwide lockdown. “The ministry will first finalise safety protocols by holding consultations with stakeholders concerned,” according to tourism secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari.
“The flights will be resumed in three phases,” he said, adding, “In the first phase, flights will be operated to the destinations that are less affected by Covid-19.” After that, flights will be operated to other destinations in the second and third phases. During the first phase of flight resumption, the airline companies will not be allowed to operate all their aircraft at once. “Permission to operate aircraft will be given based on the destination and the number of passengers,” he said, adding that the ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Health and Population for safety of the passengers travelling through commercial flights, if any health issue arises.
The Ministry of Health and Population is also going to prepare a new guidelines on handling of the arriving air passengers after August 17. “All passengers, who plan to arrive Nepal on charter or repatriation flights until August 16 should go to quarantine centres,” Adhikari said, adding that passengers of the scheduled commercial flights must also show their PCR report to enter Nepal thereafter. “The passengers of the scheduled international flights might also be ordered to go for self-quarantine even after producing the PCR test report.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and the airlines companies are also preparing standard operating procedures to resume domestic and international flights.
Once the commercial flights start operating, the Department of Tourism is also planning to issue climbing permits for the autumn season. The department has already started preparing necessary guidelines – with Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for agencies – for climbers and trekkers, who plan to visit Nepal after August 17.
No comments:
Post a Comment