Purna Chandra Thapa, Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) of the Nepali Army (NA), has gone into self-quarantine after a staff member at his official residence tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

According to the NA's public relations directorate, the CoAS went into quarantine on Sunday as per the Health Ministry protocols, The Himalayan Times reported on Monday.

The staff member has tested positive the previous day.

Thapa and Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel had self-quarantined earlier after a staff at the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre had contracted the virus.

On Monday, the country's overall caseload increased to 74,745 after 1,351 new infections were reported in 24 hours, The Himalayan Times quoted the Health Ministry as saying in its latest update.

Meanwhile, with the emergence of four new fatalities, Nepal's COVID-19 death tally jumped to 481.

Ministry spokesperson Jageshwor Gautam urged the public to not take the pandemic casually and adopt necessary precautionary measures to ensure safety from the virus as cases of infection are being regularly reported from across the country.
(IANS)