Kathmandu:

Nepal on Thursday decided to resume cross border transportation with India as the Himalayan nation’s COVID-19 cases significantly decreased.

The decision was taken during a meeting of Nepal’s COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) at the Prime Minister’s Office at Singhadurbar, the centre’s secretary Khaga Raj Baral told reporters.

“The CCMC meeting has decided to recommend to the Cabinet to resume cross-border transportation between Nepal and India via various 12 routes,” Mr Baral said.

However, passengers travelling by land routes are required to adhere to coronavirus protocols and produce a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test report conducted 72 hours before their journey.

The Nepal government had suspended the cross-border movement with India in March last year as part of its measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Nepal, which shares an 1,800-km open border with India, has a total 37 motorable land entry points with it.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Population said the country’s COVID-19 tally has reached 275,625 with 107 new cases in the past 24 hours. With the death of one person, the death count reached 3,015.

So far, more than two million people have been tested in the country.

There are 1,000 active cases in the country, the ministry said, adding that 271,610 people have so far recovered.