Nepal issues COVID-19 safety guidelines for mountaineers

Foreign tourists visiting Nepal for mountaineering will have to follow COVID-19 guidelines henceforth, such as bringing a PCR test report and a host of other mandates so as to minimise the spread of Coronavirus infection from external sources in the country.

As per a local newspaper, the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal, state that the tourists should carry a booking document for the hotel, wherein they have to quarantine themselves for at least seven days. Travelling with a PCR test report, done not more than 72 hours before landing in Nepal, is mandatory as per the guidelines issued.
Nepal restarted mountaineering activities from July 30 after a period of five months.
Reportedly, the Ministry has asked tourists to get an entry-visa or an entry-permit, should they fail to secure visa-provision in their countries with the help of respective agencies.
The new guidelines also state that the traveller must present valid documents to prove they have an insurance of $5,000.The are also supposed to undergo a PCR test at their own expenditure on the fifth day of quarantine. Only after testing negative of COVID-19, travellers will be permitted to proceed for the work that brought them to Nepal. In case they test positive, they can only be relieved after staying in quarantine until they test negative for the disease.
Tourism and mountaineering are the primary sources of income for the government of Nepal.

The Ministry has also directed trekking or mountaineering agencies to insure travellers from Nepal against COVID-19 for a sum of INR 1 lakhs before applying for a permit.