Nepal reports 166 new coronavirus cases, total crosses 1,500-mark

Nepal reported 166 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infections in the country to 1,567, with eight deaths.

The government has extended the nationwide lockdown till June 14 amid a surge in number of COVID-19 cases and decided to deploy the Army in the worst-hit areas.

Nepal registered its highest single-day surge in cases on Saturday with 189 new detections.

Another two patients, including a two-year-old child, have died of coronavirus, taking the total virus deaths to eight. The minor girl, along with her parents, had come to Nepal from India.

The other deceased was a 35-year-old man quarantined in Dailekh district, the Health Ministry said.

There are 1,340 active coronavirus cases in the Himalayan nation. So far, 69,582 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have been conducted.

The Cabinet meeting held on Saturday had decided to extend the lockdown.

Meanwhile, the government has also decided to suspend all domestic and international flights till June 30.

The prior-imposed nationwide lockdown, decreed to curtail the potential spread of COVID-19, was to end on June 2.

The government has also decided to mobilise the Army to the worst-hit areas to effectively implement the lockdown.

The government also decided to bring home the Nepalese people stranded abroad on a priority basis.

Among the new cases, Rautahat, Salyan and Dhanusha districts reported the highest number of cases with 29, 25 and 21 cases respectively.

Similarly, 18 people each have been detected coronavirus positive from Kalikot and Dailekh, 12 from Saptari and 10 from Sarlahi.