The Nepal government on Thursday said the coronavirus pandemic has not been able to make any major dent in the country's economy as it did maximum financial transactions with India, which is not much affected by the disease.
The deadly novel coronavirus that first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed over 4,200 lives and infected more than 117,330 people across 107 countries and territories, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring the outbreak a pandemic on Wednesday.
The viral outbreak has hit global economic activities and supply of essential goods.
During an all-party meeting on the prevention and control of COVID-19, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada said since Nepal did maximum economic transactions with India, which is not that affected by the disease, the economy of the nation as a whole has not faced any major trouble in the wake of the global coronavirus outbreak.
He, however, admitted that some sectors like tourism and trading are experiencing some impact and pledged to come up with a "relief package" for the business community soon.
Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta asserted that the country has enough stock of essential items and there was no need to panic.
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He, however, acknowledged the need to boost monitoring to curb any anomalies in the market.
Nepal has so far reported only one case of coronavirus and the infected person has already been treated. India on Thursday reported total 73 confirmed cases, which includes 16 Italian tourists and one more foreign national.
At the meeting, leaders cutting across party lines urged the government to take more proactive measures to ensure Nepal's full preparedness in case of a possible outbreak of the disease in the country.
The meeting was called by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokhrel, who heads the high-level coordination committee for the prevention and control of novel coronavirus.
Health Ministry spokesperson Bikash Devkota made a presentation on the strategies adopted by the government to fight the disease.
He said the government has adopted a four-pronged strategy, with special focus on preventing the disease from entering the country.
"The government has concentrated all its efforts on not allowing the disease to enter the country by making effective checks at all entry points, such as international airports and land entry points along the borders," Devkota said.
The other strategies are raising mass awareness, strengthening quarantine facilities and boosting treatment facilities for those infected.
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