By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, June 5: The government on Thursday instructed the high-level committee formed to prevent and control COVID-19 pandemic to prepare a work plan and submit it to the next Cabinet meeting suggesting measures to relax the ongoing nationwide lockdown.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the official residence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Baluwatar this evening discussed several modalities to relax the present lockdown, according to Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation and Urban Development Basanta Kumar Nembang.
However, no concrete decision was taken in the meeting, only the high level committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Ishwar Pokhrel was instructed to prepare and submit the work plan as designed by the CCMC-Ops to take a new decision regarding relaxation of the lockdown, Minister Nembang said.
"The Prime Minister has given the responsibility to decide on the lockdown modality to the high level committee, which will prepare and design lockdown modality in phase-wise term," Minister Nembang said.
The meeting also discussed the managerial parts once the government starts rescuing stranded Nepalis from abroad. The government said it would begin to rescue stranded Nepalis from Friday
Earlier on Wednesday, the government had held a marathon meeting lasting for more than four hours with expert team members from various walks of life to take appropriate decisions and the risk factors after the relaxation of the lockdown.
On the 73rd day of the nationwide lockdown on Thursday, some business entrepreneurs and shopkeepers in Kathmandu and other cities outside the Kathmandu Valley defied the lockdown and opened their shops partially.