Speaking on LTV on Wednesday night, he said this comes after the country experienced several new cases of COVID-19 during the festive season.
Mr Maqelepo also announced the closure of all schools starting from nursery to the institutes of higher learning.
The minister said from now onwards, anyone suffering from common cold should be tested for COVID-19 since it is one of the symptoms of the pandemic.
All health clinics, he said have testing equipment to carry-out this exercise, adding that the high rate of infections in Lesotho came after South Africa introduced rapid testing at the borders, where many Basotho go for testing.
“Many Basotho migrant workers including those working in the mines and other places in South Africa who returned home for the festive season might have somehow contributed towards the surge in COVID-19 cases,” he also said.
He noted that several businesses have also temporarily halted some of their daily activities as part of precautionary measures.
