Oli says Nepal can't lift lockdown unless situation normalises in India

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has ruled out lifting lockdown in the Himalayan nation, saying that cases of coronavirus have just begun to rise in the neighbouring country which shares a porous border with Nepal.

The Indo-Nepal border has already been sealed to contain the spread of coronavirus.

In a video conference with the Chief Ministers of seven provinces on Saturday, Oli made it clear that the measures adopted to curb the spread of COVID-19 will not be lifted unless the situation goes back to normal in India.

Advocating for implementing harsh measures to control the spread of COVID-19, Oli said,"We cannot lift the lockdown despite the fact that the number of cases has continued to rise in India. There is no point in becoming emotional about lifting the lockdown. Instead, we have to adopt stricter measures to control the spread of COVID-19."

Chief Minister Sher Dhan Rai, Lal Babu Raut, Dorm Poudel, Prithivi Subba Gurung, Shanker Porkharel, Mahendra Shahi, and Trilochan Bhatta further briefed the prime minister over the measures adopted to contain the deadly virus.

The video conference continued for about four hours wherein the leaders hinted for extending the lockdown which is set to end in the midst of this month.

Nepal imposed the lockdown on March 24 following India.

He also appealed to the Chief Ministers to launch an awareness campaign on COVID-19 and stressed on for the need to step up strong coordination between the federal government and provincial government.

Nepal to date have nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 with one already recovered. India has reported 8,356 cases, out of which 7,367 are active with 716 discharged and 273 deaths.

( With inputs from ANI )