Nepal reports 9 new cases; total infections goes upto 258: Health Ministry

Nepal on Friday reported nine fresh cases of COVID-19, mostly from a district adjacent to the Indo-Nepal border, taking the total number of infections to 258, the health ministry said.

Nepal, which currently is under a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus, is among the nations that has the least number of cases of the deadly COVID-19 with no deaths.

"The number of coronavirus infected cases has reached 258 in Nepal on Friday with nine more people tested positive," Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, who is the joint spokesman at Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population, said.

"A 37-year-old man from Makwanpur and other eight males aged between 18 and 36 from Nainpur Village of Banke district have been tested positive for COVID-19.

He said that eight people from Banke district near the Nepal-India border, who tested positive for the virus, are those who returned home from India three days ago despite the lockdown in place.

The Nepal government has intensified the vigil along the country's southern border with India due to a sudden spike in the number of coronavirus patients.

So far, 36 people have recovered from the disease.

There are 222 active COVID-19 patients currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals across the country.

"So far coronavirus tests have been conducted on 23,914 people," according to the ministry.