Govt releases quarantined 175 evacuees from Kharipati

KATHMANDU, March 2: The government Monday released all the quarantined 175 Nepalis, who were evacuated from Hubei province of China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak on Feb 16, from Kharipati after all of them tested negative.

Their 16-day quarantine ended today after their throat and nasal swab test conducted on the 14th day of isolation were negative, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.

State Minister for Health and Population Nawaraj Rawat and a team comprising government officials reached the quarantine facility set up at the Nepal Electricity Authority Training Center to see them off today.

The evacuees were not allowed to meet their families during the isolation period except on telephone and were joyous that they were finally being reunited with their family and relatives.

They were also grateful to the government for its effort to bring them home safe and praised the well-organized and comfortable isolation facility.

“I was initially a little apprehensive about the quarantine facility. But my entire impression changed when I saw and experienced the impeccable management put in place in the quarantine facility,” a student shared while bidding farewell to his friends, with whom he spent more than two weeks in a worry-free environment.

“We would sing and dance and enjoy. We played various sports. We spent happily,” he added.

“Although we could not meet our parents, we were in regular touch with them via our mobile phones.”

“The management aspect was great. Accommodation, food and other facilities were better than we had expected.

“My love for the country has increased manifold since I landed on my soil,” another person from the quarantine added.

“The environment inside the quarantine facility was homely. All of them (evacuees) were friendly like family members,” he added.

The new global virus, COVID-19, has infected more than 89,000 people globally spreading to over 60 countries and claimed over 3,000 deaths–with 2,912 deaths among 80,026 cases in China, mostly in Hubei.

(With inputs from RSS)