Journo Ishwar Karki donates one month’s salary to COVID-19 treatment fund

KATHMANDU, March 23: Reporters’ Club Nepal journalist Ishwar Karki has donated his one month’s salary to the coronavirus pandemic treatment fund set up by the government to tackle the risk of coronavirus pandemic.

“I have decided to provide my one month’s salary to the COVID-19 treatment fund set up by the government today,” Karki wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held yesterday had established the fund which will be used to purchase equipment such as masks, thermometers, ventilators, among others to be used to combat the COVID-19. Nepal has confirmed only one imported case of the virus so far.

The government is contributing Rs 500 million to the fund while all the cabinet ministers are also donating their one month’s salary.

The death toll from the virus has passed 14,600 and infected more than 335,000 people worldwide, with Europe the new epicenter, as on Monday.

Italy is the worst-hit region in Europe with 59,000 cases and 5,476 deaths.