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Government bans entry of all passengers, including Nepalis, from midnight March 20

All passengers, including Nepalis, flying in from Europe, the UK, West Asia, and the Gulf will not be allowed into the country until April 15. Government bans entry of all passengers, including Nepalis, from midnight March 20

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Sangam Prasain & Prithvi Man Shrestha

Published at : March 18, 2020

Updated at : March 30, 2020 12:24

Kathmandu

[This story has been updated.]

The government has banned all passengers, including Nepalis, from entering Nepal from European Union territories, including the United Kingdom, West Asia, Gulf countries and countries like Iran, Turkey, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. The ban will come into effect from March 20 midnight and will remain in place until April 15.

All passengers transiting in these locations are also prohibited.

Movement from China, however, has remained inexplicably open.

A meeting of the high-level coordination committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ishwar Pokhrel took these decisions on Wednesday.

“The decision means that all Nepalis who are currently outside the country have to enter Nepal by Friday midnight,” said Rajan Pokhrel, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, one of the members of the committee. “As the Indian government has banned the entry and exit of all passengers from its airports, we didn’t deem it necessary to ban passenger movement to India.”

There are, however, concerns regarding the status of Nepalis who are currently abroad, especially if their visas expire and they do not have enough money to remain abroad.

According to the committee, this issue will be handled by Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad and coordinated by the Foreign Ministry.

“This is a practical issue that needs to be resolved by the Foreign Ministry,” said Ram Chandra Tiwari, information officer at the Department of Immigration. “Such issues will be settled through diplomatic channels.”

The ban on entry comes in response to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak that has paralysed the world. As the coronavirus has spread to over 160 countries, numerous nations have placed travel bans and are shutting down borders in order to contain the spread of the disease.

This is the third step of restriction after the government on March 2 suspended the visa-on-arrival regime for nationals of five countries — China, South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran which were badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subsequently, on March 11, the government decided to temporarily stop issuing on-arrival tourist visas to all countries, including the Non-Resident Nepalis.

“This is the most rigid step taken by the government as of now. If the scenario becomes more extreme, there is a possibility that the government could place the country’s sole international airport under lockdown for all passengers,” said Pokhrel.

“But in view of essential supplies that need to be flown, the government may not restrict the flights. Everything will be decided step by step.”

According to the airport authority, after the decision to temporarily stop issuing on-arrival tourist visas to all countries, inbound passenger movement plunged to just 3,064 individuals on March 17. Among them, 2,904 were Nepalis and 160 foreigners. On a normal day, Nepal’s sole international airport receives 5,000 inbound passengers.

As per the high-level coordination committee’s decision, if any foreign tourist currently in Nepal is unable to return to their country, the government will extend their visas as per the prevailing law. However, tourists need to apply for the extension before their visas expire.

For passengers who have already purchased flight tickets to or from Nepal, and wish to cancel their trip, airlines should handle their refund requests free of charge, according to the committee’s decision. The coordination committee has asked the Tourism Ministry to direct all airlines to not charge passengers for postponement.

The government has also decided to shut down all cinema halls, gyms and health clubs, museums and cultural centres until April 30, and has banned gatherings of more than 25 people at a time, whether it be for cultural, social or religious activities at party palaces, temples, monasteries, mosques, churches and other religious and public spaces.

The Covid-19 outbreak has so far infected 203,617 people and killed 8,227.

Nepal has only reported a single case of the coronavirus, in January. The patient recovered.

***

Frequently asked questions about the coronavirus outbreak

UPDATED as of September 22, 2020

What is Covid-19?
Covid-19, short for coronavirus disease, is an illness caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, short for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Common symptoms of the disease include fever, dry cough, fatigue, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

How contagious is Covid-19?
Covid-19 can spread easily from person to person, especially in enclosed spaces. The virus can travel through the air in respiratory droplets produced when a sick person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes. As the virus can also survive on plastic and steel surfaces for up to 72 hours and on cardboard for up to 24 hours, any contact with such surfaces can also spread the virus. Symptoms take between two to 14 days to appear, during which time the carrier is believed to be contagious.

Where did the virus come from?
The virus was first identified in Wuhan, China in late December. The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that is responsible for everything from the common cold to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). After an initial outbreak in Wuhan that spread across Hubei province, eventually infecting over 80,000 and killing more than 3,000, new infection rates in mainland China have dropped. However, the disease has since spread across the world at an alarming rate.

What is the current status of Covid-19?

The World Health Organisation has called the ongoing outbreak a “pandemic” and urged countries across the world to take precautionary measures. Covid-19 has spread to 213 countries and territories around the world and infected more than 31,405,983 people with 967,505 deaths and 22,990,260 recoveries. In South Asia, India has reported the highest number of infections at 5,557,573 with 88,943 deaths. While Pakistan has reported 306,304 confirmed cases with 6,420 deaths. Nepal has so far reported 65,276 cases with 427 deaths.

How dangerous is the disease?

The mortality rate for Covid-19 is estimated to be 3.6 percent, but new studies have put the rate slightly higher at 5.7 percent. Although Covid-19 is not too dangerous to young healthy people, older individuals and those with immune-compromised systems are at greater risk of death. People with chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease, or those who’ve recently undergone serious medical procedures, are also at risk.

How do I keep myself safe?
The WHO advises that the most important thing you can do is wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizers with at least 60 percent alcohol content. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unclean hands. Clean and disinfect frequently used surfaces like your computers and phones. Avoid large crowds of people. Seek medical attention if symptoms persist for longer than a few days.

Is it time to panic?

No. The government has imposed a lockdown to limit the spread of the virus. There is no need to begin stockpiling food, cooking gas or hand sanitizers. However, it is always prudent to take sensible precautions like the ones identified above.

Sangam Prasain
Sangam Prasain is Business Editor at The Kathmandu Post, covering tourism, agriculture, mountaineering, aviation, infrastructure and other economic affairs. He joined The Kathmandu Post in October 2009.

Prithvi Man Shrestha
Prithvi Man Shrestha was a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.