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Nepal reported 111 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Thursday. With this, the number of people who lost their lives to coronavirus has reached 12, 029. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 517 swab samples were tested in the last 24 hours, of which 111 tested positive. The Ministry said that 60 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 378 active cases in the country.  

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City sealed a petrol pump in Balaju on Thursday. The metropolis said it has sealed Naya Bazaar-based Kot: Dhuku Petrol Pump this afternoon. Raju Pandey, Chief Superintendent of the metropolitan police force, said that the metropolis sealed the petrol pump operating inside the shutter of the house. The metropolis has intensified the campaign to remove illegal structures and petrol pumps being operated against the standard. Earlier on Tuesday, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City had demolished a police beat constructed on the roadside.

An 11-year-old boy died and two others sustained injuries after being struck by lightning in Taplejung on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Dorchi Sherpa of Sanghu Chitre, Maiwakhola Rural Municipality-4. The boy's father Darinji and mother Mingla Lhamu were seriously injured in the incident. Both are being treated at the District Hospital, said Bijaya Prakash Wanem, the Rural Municipality Chairman.

Electric vehicles will come into operation in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, after a long wait. These vehicles were lying idle under the open sky for more than two years due to the delay in the legal process in acquiring the operation permit and lack of the operation modality. The five electric buses and 14 vans given by donor agencies in grant assistance were sitting idle as the Lumbini Province Government failed to make arrangements for the legal process for operating them. Preparations are being made to operate these luxury vehicles shortly after the Province Government recently opened the way for the legal process for the same.  A meeting of the Province Council of Ministers on April 21 decided to give approval for operating these vehicles converting their number plates from white to green. Vehicles with white number plates indicate that they are operated for government offices while those with green number plates indicate operated for tourism purposes. These vehicles belong to the Lumbini Development Trust. LDT received these electric vehicles costing Rs 130 million under the Clean Energy Project. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided these vehicles as grant assistance. These vehicles were received through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The Government of Nepal had paid additional Rs 35 million as customs duty while bringing the vehicles to Nepal. Charging stations have also been constructed in Lumbini at a cost of Rs 139 million for the operation of these vehicles. The tires of several of these vehicles have gone flat while the batteries too have become dysfunctional for lack of regular charging as these vehicles remained abandoned for long. Each of the five buses is of 19 seat capacity while each of the 14 vans is of five seat capacity. The vehicles have automatic doors and are disabled-friendly. They were brought for the convenience of tourists in Lumbini and the nearby associated places related to Buddhism. These electric buses and cars were brought to Lumbini on November 24, 2020 with a goal of making Lumbini pollution-free.