Combating COVID-19: Nepal extends lockdown by a week

Nepal on Sunday extended the lockdown by a week to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A Cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister's residence decided to extend the lockdown by an additional eight days till April 7.

Last week, the government had imposed nationwide lockdown, which was set to end on March 31.

A high-level Government Coordination Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokhrel on Sunday afternoon recommended Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli led government to extend the lockdown."This war (against COVID-19) is not solely of the central government or state mechanism. It is to be fought by people in a collective way. It is a war against the protagonist of human civilization, prosperity and against the progress of human upliftment and development. To fight against it, unity among all is important. We all should go hand-in-hand. I request all the people from various backgrounds to come jointly against it," Ishwar Pokhrel, Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, said in a video statement.

The committee led by Pokhrel on Sunday afternoon had made the decision to extend the ban on international flight till mid of April. Nepal has been under complete lockdown from March 24, a day after a 19-year-old France returnee via Qatar tested positive with the COVID-19 virus. There is a total of nine cases of coronavirus in the country.