By Purushottam P. Khatri
Kathmandu, Aug. 7: Minister for Finance and Communication and Information Technology Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada Thursday said that the government would take stern measures by adopting a selective approach if the present COVID-19 infection rate continued to increase.
“The government would call a meeting of the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) within three or four days to take some concrete decisions if the COVID-19 situation deteriorates further in the Valley and other major city areas across the country,” Minister Dr. Khatiwada said.
He made this remark speaking at a weekly press meet organised to make the Cabinet decisions taken on August 3 public.
Asked if the government was going to impose new round of lockdown again, Minister Khatiwada, who is also the government’s spokesperson, said the government had not recently thought about such a decision, but was consulting about calling a meeting of the CCMC within this week to take appropriate decision.
In an indirect way, Minister Dr. Khatiwada said that the government may take selective approach to implement prohibition or lockdown decision in specific areas or districts where there are over 200 active COVID-19 cases.
Minister Dr. Khatiwada said that the government had not thought about making any change in the previous decision of opening domestic, international flights, long and medium route public transportation and beginning school enrollment session from August 17.
Minister Dr. Khatiwada said that the government would also take world’s best practices into consideration while imposing and ending the lockdown in particular districts and regions when the situation starts worsening further in the days ahead.
As lockdown is not a panacea to reduce infection, the government and the public themselves should become accountable while adopting minimum health protocols, he said.
During a meeting with Prime Minster KP Sharma Oli this week, public health experts discussed that rather than imposing lockdown, there are already over 49 chronic diseases people have been suffering from in their daily lives, and the deaths from such chronic diseases are higher than the deaths caused by COVID-19, so the lockdown may not be all-time right solution, Minister Dr. Khatiwada explained.
“Our public health experts termed the coronavirus as ‘youngest disease’ of the present world and have kept it in 50th position in Nepal below other chronic diseases from which Nepalis have been suffering more,” Minister Dr. Khatiwada said.
Taskforce to study sick industries
Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting held this week decided to form a six-member taskforce led by former secretary Deepak Subedi to study and submit report with modality to operate and identify the problem of sick industries in both government and private sectors.
The taskforce will have five other members. The members include -- former joint secretary Jibraj Koirala, former executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Gopal Bhatta from banking

sector, and auditor Krishna Prasad Acharya and two others from Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Industrial and Investment Promotion Division. The taskforce has been given three months’ time to submit
the report and recommend operation modality of the sick industries.
One-door policy in foreign trade
The Cabinet meeting also decided to adopt one-door policy in foreign trade for its better facilitation, according to Minister Dr. Khatiwada.
The government will adopt one-door system in foreign trade by incorporating 21 different units of the government. For this the government will establish one particular office that will coordinate with 21 different units of the government for better results and performances, he said. The government will create temporary vacancies of seven gazetted level posts for this, he said.
The government has nominated Rama Joshi Dulal as member secretary of Arrears Evaluation and Monitoring Committee for next two years. The government has also promoted Joint Secretary Bir Bahadur Rai to the post of Secretary.
Over 330 temporary vacancies created
The Cabinet meeting also decided to create 292 temporary vacancies under the Ministry of Federal Affair and General Administration and 42 others in Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.
Dr Senendra Raj Upreti, a permanent resident of Bhumlutar-8 in Kavrepalanchowk district, has been appointed as chairman of Health Insurance Board.