KATHMANDU: The government has appointed retired Lieutenant General of Nepal Army Bala Nanda Sharma as the head of COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC).

A meeting of the Council of Minister convened in Baluwatar Monday evening appointed Sharma to the post of CCMC chief.

Sharma after the appointment is also the member secretary of the COVID-19 Steering Committee chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The Steering Committee was formed as envisioned by the COVID-19 Crisis Management Ordinance, which was recently enacted.

Sharma had worked as the coordinator of a special committee that oversaw the integration of Maoist fighters into the Nepal Army after the Maoist insurgency ended in 2006.