Kathmandu. President Bidya Devi Bhandari has stressed that the need of the day is to protect the human life by making full use of the existing infrastructure and human resource. She also took information about the details of the work done by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) on the prevention and control of COVID-19 at Rashtrapati Bhawan, Shital Niwas on Tuesday.

She praised the efforts of the health workers for the control and prevention of COVID-19, who have put their own lives at risk in also taking special care of children, elderly and physically challenged people in the current situation. She advised the government to focus on building infrastructure and human resource to provide more services.

Urging the concerned authorities to pay attention to the problems of the people living in poverty, she highlighted the need to make the local level more active during the current crisis; suggesting the central government to work with the local level to facilitate social life. President Bhandari also said that the government should continue to increase investment in the education and health sectors, drawing lessons from the ongoing pandemic.

On the occasion, the Minister for Health and Population Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal said that the government has taken steps to ensure that Nepali citizens will not be deprived from vaccine against the virus, if it is launched. Minister Dhakal clarified that those infected with COVID-19 will not be deprived of treatment, even if enough beds are not available in the hospitals.

Directors and officials of various government hospitals in Kathmandu briefed the President about the work done by their hospitals during the pandemic and their future plans to tackle the situation.