KATHMANDU, April 25: Nepal has seemingly made progress in controlling the spread of COVID-19 as the World Health Organization (WHO) placed the country in the list of risk zones, removing it from the list of high risk zones, officials said on Saturday.

Samir Kumar Adhikari, assistant spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, said that Nepal has been delisted from the high risk zone based on WHO’s recent assessment relating to COVID-19 impact on Nepal.

The UN agency conducted the assessment based on the government's ongoing efforts to prevent and contain the spread of novel coronavirus.

"The lockdown measures announced by the government have been very effective to prevent and control the spread of coronavirus since the beginning. So, Nepal has now been delisted from the list of high risk zones," he added. As of Friday, 49 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Nepal, including 12 cases of recovery.

Amid rising coronavirus cases in neighboring countries China and India, the WHO had placed Nepal in the high risk zone. Nepal went into a nationwide lockdown on March 24.