By Smita Adhikari

Pokhara, Mar. 14: The Gandaki State government has been preparing to set up quarantines in different places of Pokhara as a precautionary measure against the potential COVID-19 outbreak in the city.
The State government is now conducting a study on it.
The Regional Office of the Armed Police Force located in Lamapatan, Lekhnath Lions Community Hospital Sisuwa and the building of the then Fulbari Resort located in Gharipatan are the proposed places to set up the quarantines.
The people suspected to infectious or contagious disease like COVID-19 are kept and provided treatment in such quarantines.
According to Dr. Binod Bindu Sharma, Gandaki State Regional Health Director, each of the quarantine will have a capacity to hold at least 100 patients at a time.
The Regional Health Directorate has already allocated budget in coordination with the Ministry of Social Development for the proposed quarantines.
The beds in the quarantine have to be kept at a distance of at least one and a half metres. Basic materials required for a person in due course of treatment and their cost will be borne by the government.
Each patient will require Rs. 4,000 a day while staying in the quarantine, it was learnt.
"We are hopeful that the locations for the quarantine will be finalised within a few days," Dr. Sharma said.
Similarly, the Gandaki State Regional Health Directorate has already separated 80 beds for the isolation wards in different hospitals of the city.
The isolation wards will be used to keep and provide treatment to anyone found infected with the virus.
Majority of the isolation wards are separated by the hospitals of Pokhara. They have separated isolation ward on their own effort.
Charak Memorial Hospital has separated 27 beds, GP Koirala Hospital located in Dulegauda Tanahu has separated 20 beds, Gandaki Medical College 15 beds, Manipal Teaching Hospital 15 beds and the Western regional Hospital three beds for the isolation wards.
According to State Health Directorate, still many hospitals are in the process of separating isolation wards.
The Health Directorate has also been preparing to introduce a guideline and policy for home quarantine in case any patient refuses to stay in a hospital or in quarantine.
To manage and monitor the quarantines and isolation wards, the Ministry for Social Development has formed a separate committee comprising health experts and government officials.
"We are preparing a strong foundation to ensure public safety to save people from coronavirus or any other communicable diseases they may appear in future,” said Shambu Prasad Gyanwali, coordinator of Quarantine Sub-Committee under the Corona Precaution Task Force.
The task force has also constituted 11 sub-committees to conduct various measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the lake city.