Nepal on Wednesday extended the nationwide lockdown till May 18 and suspended international flights and cross-border movement with the neighbouring countries like India and China until May 31 to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting held at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's residence at Baluwatar. The ongoing lockdown, which was first enforced on March 24 to stop the spread of the COVID-19, was to an end on Thursday.
This is for the fourth time that the lockdown has been extended by the government. The government said it will restrict people's movement into the Kathmandu valley in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Despite the ongoing lockdown, hundreds of people are entering the valley from various parts of the country.Nepal reported seven new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the number of infections in the Himalayan nation to 82. No death has been reported from the country so far.