Kathmandu, July 30 (RHC)-- Nepal has begun issuing climbing permits for Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks, a Tourism Ministry spokesman said, four and a half months after it halted expeditions amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The government also reopened hotels, restaurants and casinos in line with the Cabinet decision of July 21, said Kamal Prasad Bhattarai, a Tourism Ministry spokesman.

Last week, the government lifted a four-month nationwide lockdown to lessen the economic fallout from the pandemic.

The decision came amid the rising number of coronavirus infections in the country.  In mid-March, the government suspended expeditions for the commercial climbing season, which runs from April to May.