March 30: The government has extended the nationwide lockdown until next Tuesday upon the recommendation of the high level committee formed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the prime minister's official residence in Baluwatar on Sunday (March 29) took a decision to this effect.

Government spokesperson Yuba Raj Khatiwada informed that the cabinet decided to extend the lockdown by a week until April 7 as the country continues to record new cases of coronavirus.

The government had initially imposed the lockdown on March 24 to contain the deadly virus after a Nepali girl returning from France tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, three more cases have been recorded, taking the tally to five. One patient who tested positive for COVID-19 in January has already recovered while others are receiving treatment at various government hospitals.

The government decided to impose the lockdown as per the suggestion of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that limiting mobility of people helps to significantly reduce the transmission of the deadly disease, that has claimed almost 34,000 lives and infected more than 700,000 people worldwide.

Minister Khatiwada also said that Nepal's international borders will remain closed until April 7.