Kathmandu, May 22 (IANS): The Nepali government has decided to seal off all the entry points to capital Kathmandu, in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the densely-populated city, officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise in Nepal, with a dozen of COVID-19 cases reported in the capital city taking the nationwide tally to 457, according to Ministry of Health and Population.

The country has so far reported three COVID-19 deaths.

"A meeting chaired by Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and represented by Chief District Officers and elected representatives of the local government in the Kathmandu Valley on May 14 had decided to stop entry of vehicles all the entry points without vehicle pass issued by concerned government authorities," Kedarnath Sharma, spokesperson at the Ministry of Home Affairs, told Xinhua news agency on Thursday.

"Based on the decision, letters have been sent to local administrations and local governments."

There are six major entry points to Kathmandu Valley.

Sharma said the Nepali government decided to tighten entry and exit of vehicles even with authorized passes, as people who are not in an emergency situation have started to misuse such passes.

Nepal's Traffic Police also said that except the emergency vehicles and vehicles carrying essential goods, no other vehicle without a pass has been allowed to enter Kathmandu Valley.

"We have returned those who have tried to enter Kathmandu without the pass," Superintendent of Police Jeevan Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson of Nepal's Traffic Police.