Kathmandu Valley lockdown extended till Sep 1

Authorities in the three districts of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley have decided to extend the ongoing lockdown till September 1 by keeping most of the existing restrictive measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, while lifting a ban on vehicles plying after 8 p.m.

"The main reason behind the continuation of the lockdown is that the number of Covid-19 cases has continued to remain high and the infection rate has also remained around 30 per cent of total people tested," Dhundi Prasad Niraula, chief district officer of the Lalitpur district in the valley, told Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.

Under the decision jointly taken with Kathmandu and Bhaktapur districts, the ban enforced until midnight Tuesday against vehicles running after 8 p.m. will be lifted from Wednesday.

However, takeaway and home delivery services from restaurants are restricted after 8 p.m. from the same day.

Meanwhile, mass gatherings, sporting, religious and cultural events, schools, theatres and swimming pools, among others, will remain closed during the ongoing lockdown enforced since April 29 after Nepal was hit by a second wave of the pandemic.

On Tuesday, the South Asian country reported 2,020 new Covid-19 cases and 35 fatalities, bringing the total infections to 751,001 and the death toll to 10,568.-IANS