Nepal extends ban on domestic, int'l travel till July 5 as COVID-19 cases cross 6,000

By Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Jun 15 () Nepal on Monday extended the suspension of all domestic and international passenger flights to and from the country for another three weeks, as the number of coronavirus cases crossed 6,000 after over 450 fresh infections were detected.

According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the suspension period of all domestic and international commercial passenger flights has been extended till July 5, as per the decision made by Council of Ministers.

"Special permission from CAAN is required for repatriation flights, rescue flights, freighter flights and flights related to the medical and other essential supplies," CAAN said in the statement.

All the flights except special chartered flights have been halted as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes a day after Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari tweeted that all domestic and international flights will remain suspended until July 5.

Earlier, the domestic and international flights were suspended till June 14.

Nepal's COVID-19 cases jumped to 6211 on Monday after 451 new infections were detected in the country, the Health Ministry said.

It said 67 patients, including 7 women, were discharged after their successful treatment, taking the number of recovered patients to 1041.

The total number of active patients has reached 5,151 with 19 death so far.

A total of 1,38,683 have been conducted, including 5,306 in the last 24 hours.

Despite the extension of travel ban, Nepal has resumed visa services following the easing of nationwide lockdown by the government effective from Monday.

The Department of Immigration has resumed its visa and related services following the easing of nationwide lockdown by the government, effective from Moday.

"As per the decision of the Government of Nepal to ease the nationwide lockdown, the Department of Immigration, Kathmandu, has resumed visa and other services," said the Department in a notice.

Meanwhile, the traffic police have allowed vehicles with odd and even number plates to ply on a rotation basis to avoid traffic congestion in the valley following the easing of lockdown in most of the districts.

There has been growing traffic pressure at the entry points connecting Kathmandu with outside districts.

Only vehicles operating for providing essential services and those having special permission are allowed to enter Kathmandu valley, according to the Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police Office.

The Health Ministry has asked people to strictly follow health regulations such as using sanitizers, hand washing, social distancing and using masks in public places. SBP MRJ MRJ