The Government of Nepal has made a decision to end the nationwide lockdown after midnight of July 21, 2020. This means the public transport and shops are allowed to operate in Kathmandu and other urban areas that were closed for four months. Nepal clamped a country-wide lockdown since 24 March 2020. Now Nepal government has decided to resume the domestic and international flights including long distant public transport beginning on August 17.
However, the facilities still not allowed to open are schools, trade exhibitions, cinemas, banquet halls, gyms and religious sites. All the tourist hotels, resorts, travel and trekking agencies have permission to resume their services from July 30 already. The Department of Tourism is all set to issue climbing permits for the autumn season with the resumption of domestic and international flights.
The Office of the Department of Immigration (DoI) in Kalikasthan, Kathmandu has already resumed services from Monday, June 15, 2020. Similarly, the DoI has also introduced a module to apply for a visa online at the Nepalese missions abroad. The link to apply for a visa is https://nepaliport.immigration.gov.np. The DoI has also mentioned that only the visa issued through this system will be accepted at the entry points except visa issued by the honorary consulates.
The government decision also states that the flights will resume in three phases. In the first phase, flights will begin to the destinations that are less affected by COVID-19. Gradually, flights will continue to operate to other destinations in the second and third phases. During the initial period of flight resumption, airline companies cannot operate all their aircrafts together.
Tourists will have to test against COVID-19
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Jageshwor Gautam said that the tourists would have to stay at hotels until their PCR test report is available. It may take at least six days for the report to dispatch though. If the test is negative, they can travel but if it is positive, they have to stay in a hospital. The cost of the PCR test have to be paid by the tourists themselves. The Ministry of Health and Population has stated that the rule will come into effect from August 17.
Latest Coronavirus Update (Nepal)
There are 20,086 confirmed cases till date. Among them, 14,492 have won the battle against COVID-19 and discharged from the hospital which is above 72% of the total cases. While 56 people couldn’t defeat the Coronavirus and lost their lives. The country-wide people in quarantine are about 12,000 and 5,538 are in different hospitals undergoing treatment.
So, we request the travellers to take notes and follow the government recommendations. Wear a mask or face mask if available, wash your hands more frequently or sanitize yourself when necessary, maintain social distancing and avoid mass gatherings. We also advise you to take private transportation inside Nepal. Mountains are safer than the cities if you wish to do a trek.
Autumn is a popular trekking season in Nepal. The views are truly magnificent after the summer that clears the dust from the environment and the weather is awesome with moderate temperature.
Contact Us for the recent updates on Nepalese Tourism.
