KATHMANDU: In the wake of a new COVID-19 variant reported lately, the government has stepped up alertness.

The government has intensified caution in view that new variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) first reported in South Africa could spread to Nepal, said Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, joint spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population.

Although the variant has not yet been reported in Nepal, risks still prevail, he said. “There is a high probability of the variant transporting to Nepal. But we are all prepared for preventing its spread here.”

As part of the drive to prevent the variant as classed by the World Health Organization as ‘of concern’, help desks at the border areas with neighboring India and Tribhuvan International Airport, the country’s sole international airport, have increased a vigil, according to him.

Likewise, tourists visiting Nepal through countries reporting the variant have to compulsorily stay in a quarantine facility and necessary surveillance and monitoring would be in place, he said.