Nepal's coronavirus cases rise; lockdown extended

Nepal, which has had no deaths due to coronavirus till now, has reported two fresh cases of the deadly coronavirus on Thursday, taking the total number of positive cases to 45.

A 19-year-old boy from Janakpur in Southern Nepal and a 55-year-old woman from Udaypur district in Eastern Nepal have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health and Population said in a statement. Nepal has also been able to successfully cure nine patients, the recent two were cured ina Teku-based government hospital.

Binod Chaudhary,CG Foundation of Nepal's first billionaire and noted industrialist,has donated over 1,000 testing kits,1,000 personal protective gears andN95 masks to various provincial governments across Nepal.

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Nepal has adopted a three-phase initiative to respond to the pandemic.The first phase saw distribution of medical supplies including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and treatment supplies to 48 centers in seven provinces. Thesupplies were handed over to Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal recently at a function organised by the Ministry of Health. "Our endeavours have been receiving huge support from provincial governments," said Binod Chaudhary.

The local government has also increasedits border security put a stop on thecross border transmission of the coronavirus. Several temporary security posts have been installed and thousands of police personnel have been mobilised to halt trans-border movement of people, according to officials.

India, on Wednesday, sent 23 tonnes of essential medicines to Nepal to help the country fight the pandemic. Prime Minister, K P Sharma Oli, took to Twitter to thank Indian government.

The Nepal government on Tuesday decided to extend the lockdown period till April 27 due to the rising number of positive cases.