Seventy-one Chinese workers building an airport in Nepal have been placed in quarantine after returning to the job from China – where they had already been quarantined.
They are being held in isolation and monitored for Covid-19 at the Pokhara International Airport project (pictured), being carried out by China CAMC Engineering (CAMCE).
After celebrating the Chinese New Year and staying put during China’s lockdown, they returned to Nepal between 4-6 March.
"They had already been quarantined in China for 14 days before embarking for Nepal. As neither we nor the workers wanted to take any chances, we decided to place them in quarantine again," airport project manager Binesh Munkarmi told Press Trust of India (PTI).
Supervisors are checking the workers’ temperature three times a day, he said, adding that "So far, everyone’s is normal".
This move follows the quarantining of 36 other Chinese workers on the job earlier.
Munkarmi said 190 Chinese workers, including the 36, are back to work.
Commenting yesterday on the joint effort to maintain safety and productivity, CAMCE said: "In Nepal, the front-line personnel of the Pokhara International Airport Project Department maintained a state of struggle, actively coordinated resource allocation, made scientific and reasonable arrangements, and organised personnel, machinery and materials to enter the site.
"So far, the project has completed the structural capping of all buildings. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the decoration work, the project department accelerated the progress of construction work such as wall masonry while ensuring the installation of water, heating, and electricity to ensure the project completed on schedule."
China has been investing heavily in Nepal in the last few years to enhance the connectivity and infrastructure.
Image: Pokhara International Airport under construction in Nepal (Photograph courtesy of CAMCE)
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