KATHMANDUP- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Ishwor Pokharel and Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ have gone into self-isolation after two staff at the COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) tested positive for coronavirus.
According to a high-level government source, the two senior ministers have remained in voluntary isolation due to possibility of exposure to COVID-19 after two staff at the CCMC contracted the virus.
Both senior ministers tested for the virus today and are awaiting results, according to the source.
Deputy Prime Minister Pokharel is the coordinator of the CCMC, while Home Minister Badal is a member of the high-level government body, wich was created to combat the coronavirus. Both had attended a meeting of the CCMC, whi held a few days ago at its office in Chhauni.
“They had participated in the meeting of the CCMC some days ago. Two staff who were working at the office have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” the source said.
The secretariat meeting of the main ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) scheduled for Saturday has also been put off after two senior ministers who were also the secretariat members of the party went into self-isolation.
Earlier on Friday, the two chairmen of the NCP decided to postpone the Saturday’s secretariat meeting which was scheduled to discuss the report of a task-force formed to resolve intra-party disputes.
