December 25: Amid concerns about rising cases of Covid-19 in China, the Government of Nepal has made it clear that no new variant of coronavirus has been detected in Nepal so far.

Issuing a press statement on Saturday, the ministry said that the BF7 variant of coronavirus has not been found in Nepal. However, the ministry has urged the general public to maintain standard health protocols such as using face masks, hand sanitizers, washing hands and avoiding crowds while celebrating Christmas and New Year.

Joint Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, said that the gene sequencing of the samples collected from various parts of the country during a month did not show the BF7 variant.

“Only the omicron variant was found while testing 48 samples at the National Public Health Laboratory,” said Adhikari.    

The ministry warned that the new variant of coronavirus spreads rapidly and urged the public to take booster dose. The ministry has urged the people to contact the nearest health facilities to get the booster dose if they haven’t taken the booster dose yet.

The ministry further said it would increase vigilance and coordinate with the neighbouring country to curb the possible spread of the virus.

China has already reported massive outbreak of the new variant in many parts of the country while neighbouring India has reportedly confirmed the presence of the new variant. As Nepal shares open border with India, it is only a matter of time before the virus gets detected in Nepal. The ministry has advised prevention as the best way to tackle with the outbreak.