Kathmandu June 2:

The government has formulated a 26-point special action plan to ease the Nepali nationals who want to return home due to critical situation stemming from the global pandemic of coronavirus. The Council of Ministers meeting on 25 May had approved the action plan. The action plan contains facilitation to those wishing to return home in a safe manner, quarantine arrangement for returnees in a way to check pandemic spread, medical tests of the returnees and adoption of criteria on heath safety. It has also stipulated the roles and responsibilities of the agencies and the way to facilitate in the management of the returnees. The government is doing its groundwork to repatriate around 25,000 from the countries excluding India in the first phase. As per the allocation of responsibilities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would work to identify the citizens returning from the third countries, classify them on priority basis, collect details and provide the infroamtion to the stakeholders. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Home, state governments and local levels would cooperate to that end. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation would give aviation approval to return Nepali nationals from third countries. Likewise, the Home Ministry would also support to the move. It has also made arrangement that the Nepal Army, state government and local levels would help the Ministry of Health and Population in its responsibility in getting the returnees filled up health self-declaration forms at holding center or airport. The doctors’ team deputed at the airport would screen the health examination certificate of the Nepali nationals returning via air. Meanwhile, the Nepal Telecom and Ncell would provide mobile phone SIM cards for free to those individuals living in quarantine and holding facilities after returning from abroad. Nepal Army, Transport Department Management and Traffic Police would make provisions for the travels of those individuals upto the quarantine and holding facilities after the migrants’ arrival in check points and airport. It is said that Nepal Army would manage the holding centres while other security agencies and local levels would take care of security, surveillance and record management of the quarantine facilities. Similarly, the local level would manage the logistic supports for the quarantines with support from the Ministry of Urban Development and State governments. As per the plan of action prepared by the government, the Ministry of Finance will allocate Rs 175 per day per person for 14 days until their stay in the quarantine facility for logistic support and food. Likewise, concerned individuals coming from the third countries should pay themselves for the air ticket and hotel quarantine. Similarly, health checkups and health security related works’ management would be carried out from the Ministry of Health and Population while the entire tasks’ operation, monitoring, regulation and direction would be conducted from the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC), the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers shared.