Nepal to finalise quarantine location for stranded citizens

The Nepal government is set to finalise the location to quarantine Nepalis who are stranded in the Chinese province of Hubei, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, a media report said on Tuesday.

The government has been holding discussions on evacuating the Nepalis from Hubei since February 1, as the disease is spreading rapidly across China, which has till Tuesday morning killed 425 people in the Asian giant, The Himalayan Times said in the report.

But it has neither confirmed the date of evacuation nor finalised a place to quarantine the evacuees.

"We are still holding discussion on these issues. We will evacuate them soon and finalise the location to quarantine them by tomorrow (Tuesday) evening," Mahendra Shrestha, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, said on Monday.

"We are looking for a facility that is away from human settlement. We are also holding discussion on whether to hire an empty house or a place with basic facilities to quarantine evacuees," he said.

The quarantine facility, according to Shrestha, will have internet service, a place to engage in sporting activities and other amenities.

At least 180 Nepalis are expected to return from Hubei, as they have filed applications at the Nepali Embassy in Beijing requesting their evacuation, The Himalayan Times report said.

The government is planning to evacuate them using a chartered aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation.

Nepal, so far, has carried out 14 laboratory tests for novel coronavirus, among which one was tested positive and results of three were awaited.

The person who tested positive is fine now and out of danger, according to health authorities.

Besides Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are the other two South Asian countries to have reported confirmed case.

( With inputs from IANS )