Nepal to close 22 entry points as India battles spike in cases

Kathmandu, May 1

The Nepal government has decided to close 22 border points with India amid a sharp surge in Covid cases in the neighbouring country.

The decision came after the Covid Crisis Management Coordination Committee (CCMC) on Friday recommended to the Council of Ministers to shut down 22 out of a total of 35 border points between Nepal and India, according to officials. Now only 13 border points between Nepal and India will now remain operational.

The decision comes in the wake of rising cases of Covid infections in the southern neighbour.

India's daily coronavirus tally crossed the grim milestone of four lakh, while the death toll rose to 2,11,853 with 3,523 fresh fatalities, according to the date updated by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.

The infection tally rose to 1,91,64,969 with 4,01,993 new cases, while the active cases crossed the 32-lakh mark, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Nepal has reported 323,187 Covid cases and 3,279 deaths so far, but cases are going up at breakneck speed. The country reported more than 5,000 new cases on Thursday and Friday. — PTI