Nepal to impose odd-even rule for vehicles in Kathmandu Valley from today as Covid-19 cases surge

Representational Image (Credits: PTI)

Kathmandu: Nepal will impose the odd-even road rationing scheme for public and private vehicles in Kathmandu Valley from Saturday (January 22, 2022) morning to curb the alarming spike in coronavirus infections in the Himalayan nation, authorities said.

The nation-wide active Covid-19 caseload of Nepal touched 65,603 cases on Friday, with 10,703 new cases being reported over the last 24 hours, along with 766 recoveries and three deaths, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Population.

Close to 50 per cent of these active cases were reported in the Kathmandu Valley alone, taking the number of cases to 5,299.

Nepal's Covid-19 recovery rate stood at 91.2 per cent, while the fatality rate was 1.4 per cent.

So far, 11,635 deaths have been reported across the country.

Consequently, the Kathmandu District Administration Office has issued a notice, which said that the odd-even rule for both public and private vehicles would be imposed from Saturday morning in the Kathmandu Valley.

The decision was taken after a meeting of the Chief Administrative Officers of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur regions on Friday. As per this scheme, vehicles with an odd registration number can ply on odd dates of the month and vice-versa.

Last week, Nepal's Covid-19 task force had issued a slew of recommendations such as restrictions on gatherings, ban on rallies, closure of schools, vaccination cards being made mandatory at public places and instructed hotel guests to get tested every three days.

Till date, Nepal has only fully vaccinated 41 per cent of its population.