Tatopani checkpoint closed again after seven employees test COVID19 positive

KATHMANDU: The Tatopani checkpoint, which was opened after a gap of around eight months due to Covid-19 and natural calamities, has been closed again within a day of its resumption.

The checkpoint was closed again after seven employees of the Tatopani Customs Office were found to be coronavirus positive. According to Lal Bahadur Khatri, head of the customs office at Tatopani, the employees had tested negative in Nepal but they tested positive in China. Following this, China has refused to allow the import and export of goods through the checkpoint.

The drivers and workers of the checkpoint had been tested on Monday and the reports of four of them turned out to be positive. Later, after conducting a contact tracing three more employees tested positive on Tuesday.

Traders had breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced that the checkpoint would resume operations but their plans have again suffered a setback as the border point has been closed.

As per the traders, there are around 800 containers of ready-made garments, other clothing items, various electronic goods, apples, garlic, onions, cosmetics and toys that are stuck at the checkpoint. The good were being brought from Khasa in Tibet