Lockdown extended by 12 more days until April 27

The sudden rise of Covid-19 cases in the country has prompted the government to extend the lockdown, according to a Cabinet minister.

The government has decided to extend the ongoing nationwide lockdown until April 27.

A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided on the extension to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which has so far infected 16 people in Nepal, including three Indians.

The sudden rise of Covid-19 cases in the country has prompted the government to extend the lockdown for a further 12 days, a minister told the Post.

This is the third extension to the lockdown since it was first implemented on March 24.

Two people from the Valley tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, a day after two others—a woman from Kailali and a man from Rautahat—were confirmed to have been infected. The Health Ministry confirmed three cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, a week after as many cases were reported in Kailali and Kanchanpur, including one case of local transmission. Earlier, infections had been reported from Kathmandu, Kanchanpur, Kailali and Baglung.

According to the minister, the Cabinet meeting also decided to continue with the prohibition on all international flights and the border closure until May 1.

The Nepal government decision to extend the lockdown came hours after India’s decision to extend its lockdown until May 3.

With rapid diagnostic tests launched across the country, more cases are expected to emerge and government officials said that the lockdown is the only way to contain the spread of the disease at this point in time.




Source: The Kathmandu Post

Government extends nationwide lockdown until April 15

The government has decided to extend the ongoing nationwide lockdown until April 15 to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

“Today’s Cabinet meeting decided to extend the lockdown until April 15 midnight as Covid-19 cases have been reported even after 14 days,” Minister for Energy Barsaman Pun told the Post.

According to him, today’s meeting has also decided to increase the existing 14-day quarantine period to 21 days.

“Those completing 14-day long quarantine should stay in isolation for a week at their homes now,” said Pun

The government decisions on lockdown and quarantine period extension follow three more Covid-19 cases in Kanchanpur and Kailali on Saturday, including on local transmission which led Nepal to the stage two of the pandemic.

The ongoing lockdown was first enforced from March 24 for a week, but it was later extended by a week until April 7 midnight.




Source: The Kathmandu Post

Corona Virus – Predicted in a Netflix Series?

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Government is preparing to extend the lockdown by at least one more week

Given that the incubation time for the virus is 14 days, the lockdown could last for at least one more week, according to Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal.

Six days into the seven-day nationwide lockdown, the government has begun necessary preparations to extend the lockdown citing the increase in the number of new cases of Covid-19.

A Sunday meeting of the high-level coordination committee led by Ishwar Pokhrel will discuss the matter and will forward the extension proposal to the Cabinet, Surya Thapa, press advisor to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, told the Post.

The Cabinet is set to meet in the evening and will assess all the situation across the country, and other progress being made in preparation to combat Covid-19, said Thapa.

According to one minister, despite some sporadic incidents of people disobeying the nationwide lockdown, it has been largely successful, which has led the Pokhrel-led committee to mull extending the lockdown for a week, beginning March 31, Tuesday.

The committee will also come up with provisions to ensure that people have access to daily essentials, along with coming up with measures to support daily wage earners and other economically vulnerable groups.

Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal said that the government would take necessary decisions to continue with the lockdown a day before the week-long lockdown comes to an end.

“We are considering continuing with the lockdown for at least one more week,” said Dhakal. “Since the quarantine period is 14 days, we are thinking of going for at least 14 days of lockdown.”

Source: The Kathmandu Post




21-year-old Indian man who returned from Nepal tests positive for Covid-19

Authorities yet to ascertain if the man contracted the disease in Nepal or India.

A 21-year-old man from Ambala in the Indian state of Haryana, who had recently returned from Nepal, has tested positive for Covid-19. However, it is yet to be ascertained if the man contracted the disease while he was in Nepal or India.

The man, a resident of Ramnagar village near Patiala, Punjab, had returned from Nepal a week ago. He has been admitted to Ambala-based Civil Hospital and is undergoing treatment.

Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Kuldeep informed that the test result of the man came positive on Saturday.

“The patient was brought to the hospital after showing symptoms similar to Covid-19,” Kuldeep told the Post. “The hospital took swab samples which later tested positive for Covid-19. However, the patient is now in stable condition.”

The man had arrived in Nepal on March 9 along with a friend and had returned to India on March 19 at 3pm in an Indigo Air flight. He was screened at New Delhi airport and was cleared.

Airport officials, however, had suggested that he practice home-quarantine. The man then boarded the metro train to Kashmir Gate in New Delhi before taking a bus for his village.

“I didn’t have any symptoms until March 26 when I suddenly had a high fever and stomach ache. I took some medicine at home but it didn’t help. So I went to the City Civil Hospital where my test results came positive [for Covid-19],” said the man. “I am not experiencing any difficulties healthwise.”

Source: The Kathmandu Post




For Australians in Nepal, the flight is scheduled to leave Monday 30 March

Update from Australian Embassy

To Australians in Nepal

The Australian Embassy is in negotiations with a new air carrier on a revised commercial service to Australia.

The service will be a direct Kathmandu to Sydney flight.
Costs will be USD1800 for economy seating and will include a USD2300 option for business class travel.

While dates are yet to be confirmed, the Australian Embassy is working to a Wednesday 1 April departure.

All Australians who visited the Australian Embassy on Saturday, or who confirmed their interest with our travel provider Bon Travel are on our list of subscribed travellers.

There are 190 passengers currently subscribed for the flight and 75 seats remain available.

We currently have 407 Australians registered with the Australian Embassy as being in Nepal. We have a further 187 permanent residents. Based on these numbers, the flight will be over subscribed.

Australians interested in availing this service, and who haven’t already done so, should email Bon Travel as soon as possible. The formal booking process will commence Monday 30 March.

On social media there have been concerns expressed about cost. We appreciate where these expressions of frustration are coming from.

Many Australians have been stretched financially having paid for bookings that were subsequently cancelled. The disinclination of insurers to cover cancellations due to COVID-19 or reluctance of airlines to offer refunds in a timely manner is not helping.

In the event there are future flights, if there are future flights, they are only likely to be more expensive.

For those Australians disinclined to pay the airfare, or those who are too financially stretched despite their best efforts to seek support from friends and family in Australia, my only advice at this point would be to find a safe place to settle. This may have to be for an extended period.

There are reports that the Nepal Government will extend the current lock down to 14 April. There is prospect of further lock downs after 14 April.

This relates directly to Nepal Government efforts to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19.

Nepalis are among the most generous and resilient people I know. But there are very real fears within the community about the implications of a COVID-19 outbreak. Some have told me they fear the capacity of Nepal’s health system to cope if an outbreak occurs.

So what the Nepal Government is doing in terms of containment and restrictions on people movement is absolutely the right thing, and consistent with the advice of international health experts.

The Nepal Government wants international travellers in Nepal to be safe. The best way it can do that is to work with us to help you leave. It is trying to do this to the best of its limited capacity as a developing nation. I applaud these efforts.

At some point, the Nepal Government will have to focus entirely on the welfare of its own people, and to put Nepalis first.

Australians who decide to stay in Nepal must carefully consider what the implications of this shift will be for their own safety and security.

We are in the late stages of organising a flight. As Australian Ambassador I am offering priority to Australians.

If Australians choose not to take up this offer, I will extend it to our Kiwi friends, subject to New Zealand Government agreement.

If there are still spaces after that, I will be putting my wife on the plane, along with a valued member of my staff with her family. Take this as you will.

Source: Australian Embassy, Nepal

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For Australians in Nepal, the flight is scheduled to leave Monday 30 March with a special commercial flight from Kathmandu to Sydney with Qatar Airlines via Doha. They will be prioritizing Australian tourists, particularly the elderly and families with children.
There will be up to 300 seats available.
The cost will be around 3795 AUD p/p

Source : Nepal Tourism Board




Special hospital for COVID-19 treatment to come into operation within 72 hours

A special makeshift hospital designated for the treatment of COVID-19 patients is to be brought into operation in Chitwan district.

The hospital to be established at Chitwan Pradarshani Kendra in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-10 will have 70 beds including 10 beds each for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU).

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of concerned authorities. A 15-member task force was also formed to take measures to check the spread of the virus. A meeting of the task force, on Tuesday, decided to bring the special hospital into operation within the next 72 hours.

Different persons and organisations have been allocated the responsibility of running the hospital. In this regard, District Health Office, Chitwan will be responsible for screening people at Bharatpur Airport, among other places.

Source : THT

US Embassy to cancel visa services from Tuesday

Information for Visa Applicants Regarding CoVid-19

As of March 17, 2020, the United States Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal is cancelling routine Diversity Visa and nonimmigrant visa appointments. We will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this time. The MRV fee is valid and may be used for a visa application in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment. If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please follow the guidance provided at [email protected] to request an emergency appointment.

Please note there are travel restrictions for certain countries. Please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html and read the section “Presidential Proclamations Regarding Novel Coronavirus” for more information.

Source : https://np.usembassy.gov/




Nepal Now Amid Growing Concern of Corona Virus Outbreak

Here’s a short video by NTB where many visitors to Nepal have been asked how safe they feel in Nepal in respect to Coronavirus (COVID-19).