85% of Covid-19 cases in Nepal came from India: KP Sharma Oli

TIL Desk/World/Kathmandu/ Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Wednesday claimed that 85 per cent of the people tested positive for coronavirus in the country are those who returned from India. His claim comes in midst of a raging boundary row between the two countries with India sternly asking Nepal not to resort to any “artificial enlargement” of territorial claims after the Kathmandu released a new political map laying claim over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.

Nepal has recorded 279 new cases of the coronavirus infection on Wednesday, taking the country’s COVID-19 tally to 4,364. At least 15 people have died due to the disease, according to the health ministry. Province No. 2 situated in southern Nepal bordering India has highest number of cases. The Oli government is facing criticism from various quarters over its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to critics, despite the over two-month-long lockdown, the coronavirus infections and deaths are increasing in the country. Thousands of people are kept in quarantine facilities near Indo-Nepal border areas. However, those quarantine centres are becoming COVID-19 hotspots due to lack of basic sanitation facilities. “Eighty-five per cent of the people who tested positive for coronavirus in Nepal are those who returned from India,” Oli told Parliament while responding to questions by lawmakers.