KATHMANDU, April 5: At least Nine Nepali migrant workers have been infected by the coronavirus in Bahrain, prompting Prime Minister KP Oli to hold telephone conversation with his Bahrain counterpart on Saturday about the safety and well-being of the Nepali migrant workers there.
According to the Embassy of Nepal in Manama, the nine Nepal nationals at the Salmabad-based local company were tested positive for the coronavirus after a foreign worker working in the same company first tested positive for the deadly virus. With this, the number of Nepalis infected by Covid-19 in Bahrain has climbed to 12 as three Nepalis nationals had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in Bahrain.
Concerned over the news that nine additional Nepali nationals were infected by the COVID-19 in Bahrain, Prime Minister Oli held telephone conversation with his Bahrain counterpart Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa on Saturday afternoon. Prime Minister Oli discussed the situation of Nepali migrants workers there in view of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Prime Minister Oli tweeted that the telephone talks with Khalifa was a part of his conversations with the heads of nations where a significant number of Nepalis are involved as migrant workers. “I expressed my concern over the security of Nepalis there and also thanked the Bahrain government for its support,” he wrote.
Prime Minister Oli said he plans to continue holding discussions with the heads of government of other countries as a similar situation has emerged in other labor destinations as well.
The Embassy of Nepal in Manama in a statement has urged the Nepali migrant workers to contact the embassy if they need any emergency assistance. The embassy has also urged the Nepali nationals there to strictly follow the Bahrain government's policies to combat the virus.
Bahrain has witnessed a steady rise in the cases of COVID-19 despite the fact that it has introduced a slew of precautionary and preventive measures to stem the spread of this deadly virus across the country. While the government has announced to send any infected person defying the government orders to jail for three months, it has introduced a provision of imposing a fine from 1,000 Bahrain dinars to 10,000 dinars on anyone violating the government order.
At least 286 coronavirus-infected persons were undergoing treatment across Bahrain as of Friday, according to local media reports.