MELAMCHI GHYANG, Helambu, May 2: While the entire globe is battling against the COVID-19 pandemic, people in the upper belt of Helambu are busy gathering fodders and food supplies for the coming monsoon. Some are busy mending houses and others in the fields and with their cattle. Life is normal.
However, schools and transport services have been closed. People are on alert and the local government is doing its best to keep Helambu safe from coronavirus infections.
Once the government imposed a nationwide lockdown, people have completely stopped visiting other villages but a movement within their own village is still common. Social activities like festivals and gatherings have been completely suspended. However, funerals and death ceremonies are exceptions. Students and locals living in Kathmandu have returned. The once-deserted villages now seem lively.
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Words like lockdown, coronavirus, and quarantine have become the new buzzwords in society.
Tourism and remittance, two major sources of income for the people living in Helambu - have been hit hard by the lockdown. People in the lower belt of the region have been unable to harvest their crops and take their products to the market. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have also witnessed a drastic drop in their daily transactions. The few SMEs in operation do not have enough products to meet the demands of customers.
The local government has conducted COVID-19 tests in every village and has kept the records of foreign returnees. They have also been providing door to door medical supplies to people across the region.
So far, no case of COVID-19 has been reported in Helambu.
