After a massive surge in Covid-19 infections in Kathmandu Valley, the Kathmandu District Administration Office has announced to halt all its services starting Wednesday until further notice.
Issuing a notice on its website on Tuesday, the District Administration Office said that it has halted all its regular services—issuance and renewal of citizenship certificates and issuance of birth certificates and national identity cards.
“Due to the regular and direct contacts with service seekers, staff associated with the public service delivery in different departments in our office have been infected with Covid-19. All daily regular services have been stopped from January 19 until further notice,” reads the statement.
Kathmandu Valley alone saw 5,549 positive cases in the past 24 hours, which is over 54 percent of the national tally. Of these, 4,004 cases were confirmed in Kathmandu, 975 in Lalitpur and 570 in Bhaktapur.
According to the Health Ministry, the countrywide death toll has reached 11,624 and the number of active cases stands at 39,044.
District Administration Offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur have already put in place a slew of restrictive measures in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. Gatherings of more than 25 people have already been banned and public amenities will be limited only to the vaccinated starting January 21.
Authorities have also closed cinemas, gyms, clubs and swimming pools. All kinds of functions and gatherings that attract huge crowds have been restricted.
Experts say the situation has become critical as every other person is testing positive for the virus.
As far as regular services are concerned, Lalitpur District Administration said it is also considering some measures in view of the rising cases.
“We will decide tomorrow [Wednesday] about our work schedule after analysing the situation,” said Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, chief district officer of Lalitpur. “Covid-19 infections are going up. Over 25 percent of our staff have also been infected with the virus and they are in home isolation. We will take a decision on Wednesday on how to provide services or whether to halt services for some time.”
There has been no announcement from the Bhaktapur District Administration Office with regards to its services in view of the virus surge.
Anup Ojha is a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues, crime, and human interest stories since 2011. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years.
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