Nepal has banned all foreign nationals from using Nepal as a transit point en route to third countries following a sharp spike of a new variant of coronavirus infection in the country.

In a notice, the Department of Immigration said all foreign nationals will be barred from using Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu as a transit point, The Himalayan Times reported.

The ban, effective from 28 April midnight, would not affect foreign nationals making the country a final destination or leaving the country, the notice said.

Earlier, there were reports that many citizens of Covid-battered India with jobs or families abroad were using Kathmandu as a transit to fly off to countries like Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Hong Kong that had banned direct flights from India.