Govt suspends labor permit to prevent COVID-19 

KATHMANDU, March 13: The government of Nepal has decided to postpone all types of labor approval for foreign employment until further notice to prevent the coronavirus.

“A High-Level Coordination Committee formed to control and prevent the COVID-19 has taken the decision to postpone all types of labor approval for foreign employment until further notice,” said the Department of Foreign Employment of in a press release on Friday.

Foreign Employment Office, Tahachal’s Umesh Basnet said the labor approval has been suspended until further notice.

Nepal has received an intense pressure for not sending workers to South Korea, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait which remain as the major labor destinations for Nepalis.

The government has already decided not to send workers to the South Korea till the end of March.

Similarly, the government of Qatar has already banned entry of citizens of 14 countries including Nepal to Qatar due to the detection of coronavirus there while Kuwait has suspended the visa to foreign nationals.

The government, two days after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, has decided to suspend visa-on-arrival to all foreigners effective from March 14 till April 30.

Likewise, the government has decided to put all the foreign and Nepali travelers arriving in Nepal from March 14 to self-quarantine and home-quarantine.

The government has also suspended all the permits for mountaineering expeditions issued and to be issued for the spring 2020 season.

The Health Ministry has said a lockdown will be enforced to any area where a case of COVID-19 is reported. 

(With inputs from RSS)