Kathmandu — The Government of Nepal has extended the lockdown period by 7 days.

The lockdown is extended till 7 April, as per the decision made today by a meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the PM’s official residence, Baluwatar, the National Daily Rising Nepal writes.

“The meeting of Council of Ministers decided to extend the lockdown period by 7 days, considering the increasing threat of COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, at a press meet in Singhadurbar.

Following the detection of the second positive case of COVID-19 in the country on March 23, the government had announced week-long nationwide lockdown from March 24 to 30, prohibiting the public from stepping out of their houses.

The meeting of High Level Coordination Committee to prevent and control COVID-19 held earlier today had proposed the Council of Ministers to extend the lockdown period to prevent possible spread of the contagion that has swept across the world infecting over 650,000 and killing more than 30,000 people till the date.

The meeting of High Level Coordination Committee to prevent and control COVID-19 is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Ishwor Pokhrel.

So far, five people have tested positive for the virus in Nepal.

The Cabinet decision was taken in line with Infectious Disease Control Act, 2020.