By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 3: National Cooperative Federation of Nepal (NCFN) has established Corona Control Cooperative Centre at the Manamohan Memorial Medical College and Teaching Hospital in Swayambhu.
The centre is established on the occasion of the 63rd National Cooperative Day amidst the looming threat of coronavirus pandemic.
The Manamohan Medical College and hospital is run by Nepal Health Service Cooperative Organisation.
Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Padma Aryal launched the centre at the hospital premises on Thursday.
NCFN said that the programmes of the Cooperative Day were focused on the prevention of coronavirus, known as COVID-19.
The pandemic has taken more than 200 countries into its ambit and killed more than 48,200 people across the globe. About a million people have been infected by the deadly virus.
However, although Nepal is at high risks, there were no death cases in the country and the number of infected persons has reached six so far.
Minister Aryal said that the establishment of the Corona Control Cooperative Centre was an opportunity to identify cooperatives as service-oriented organisations. “The hospital was selected with the aim of fully utilising it and establishing a prevention facility at the central level,” she said.
Cooperatives are the organisations which work directly with the people and reach their doorsteps, therefore they must work to create awareness about the pandemic in people and support in identifying the potential risks at the local level, said the minister.
According to her, the centre was an example of social service of the cooperatives.
Senior Vice-President of the NCFN Om Devi Malla, who is also the coordinator of the Corona Prevention Cooperative Management Committee, said that the facility was a step towards solidarity with the efforts of prevention and control of the coronavirus pandemic.