A man walks out of a market in Kathmandu, Nepal on July 22, 2020. The Nepali government has decided to formally end the nearly four-month lockdown, allowing almost all economic activities to operate as the country witnesses declining number of new COVID-19 cases in recent days, a senior cabinet minister said. (Xinhua/Zhou Shengping)
KATHMANDU, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government has decided to formally end the nearly four-month lockdown, allowing almost all economic activities to operate as the country witnesses declining number of new COVID-19 cases in recent days, a senior cabinet minister said.
A cabinet meeting has decided to end the lockdown from Tuesday mid-night, Yubaraj Khatiwada, Nepali government's spokesperson and the minister for finance and communication, said at a regular press meet on Tuesday.
The Nepali government had imposed the nationwide lockdown on March 24, but since June, the government had started relaxing the lockdown gradually and in phase-wise manner.
The cabinet decision comes after Nepal has been reporting a sharp drop in COVID-19 cases in the recent days from 740 cases a day on July 3 to 150 cases on Tuesday. Total cases reached 17,994 on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.
According to the cabinet decision, the Nepali government has allowed conducting most of the activities in the hospitality sector by following certain health protocols. It has also opened the trekking, travel and mountaineering sector for service resumption. Enditem
