COVID-19: Nepal decides to extend lockdown in the valley for another week

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the Chief District Officers of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur in Nepal have all agreed to extend the ongoing lockdown in the Valley in an effort to curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus. The lockdown has been extended for another week as new coronavirus cases have continued to rise in the valley during the past seven days with no sign of slowing down.

Lockdown extended amidst rising cases

Humkala Pandey, Chief District Officer of Bhaktapur while announcing the lockdown extension said "We have decided to extend the lockdown by another week, so restrictions would be in place till September 2. We will again review the number of cases reported on a daily basis in the coming days to decide further about it,". The current lockdown was scheduled to end on August 26.

As per reports, Kathmandu Valley reported over 200 new coronavirus cases on August 25. According to the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, Nepal has recorded over 34,000 virus cases and has a death toll just shy of 200. The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 23 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 800,000.

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As per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the United States has reported a total of at least 5.7 million positive virus cases and has a death toll of 177,279. The US currently has the highest number of reported cases in the world, making it the epicentre of the deadly virus.

International flights to resume

It was recently announced by the government of Nepal that after almost six months the country will be resuming international flights from September 1 onwards. International flights will be allowed in certain areas and all passengers will need an RT- PCR Negative report which shall be performed 72 hours before getting on-board.

(Input/Image Credit ANI)

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