Kathmandu, Nepal, March 31, 2020: Though no death is confirmed yet of coronavirus (COVID-19) positive patient, the death reports of some suspected patients have created fear among the general public that the deadly virus would have spread across Nepal.
So far, the government has conducted a total of 993 tests for COVID-19 infection from different parts of the country. Among them, only five patients have confirmed positive of COVID-19. According to the government, four confirmed positive patients have been receiving treatment while one has already returned home after cure.
As some suspected cases of COVID-19 have begun to come across even from the rural parts of the country and some have breathed their last during the course of treatment in different hospitals, it is being suspected that the deadly virus would have spread across the country.
Some critics have raised questions not only over the genuinely of the test but also over the authenticity of the information of the government. Likewise, it is being suspected that new cases of COVID-19 would escalate in days to come as returnees from India have continuously been reaching in rural parts of the country sans proper tests and quarantine facilities.
According to the Ministry of Health and Population, a total of 93 individuals are kept in isolation in various provinces while seven are kept in isolation in the Kathmandu valley. New cases of suspected COVID-19 have drastically been increasing in recent days.
As so far there is no testing facilities in the provincial and district level hospitals, only 217 samples out of 993 total tests of COVID-19 were collected from different province for testing.
There is no any testing facility in all the provinces except one in Katmandu. However, the Ministry has a clam that new lab will be set up soon in Dharan, Dhangadi, Surkhet, Butwal and Janakpur that were already procured from China.
Six Lamjung youths, who flew with Dhading man tested positive for COVID-19, quarantined
Six youth from Lamjung district, who had come with the COVID-19 infected youth of Dhading district on the same plane, have been quarantined in Lamjung. The six youth and already tested COVID-19 positive Dhading youth had arrived in Nepal on March 19 on board Air Arabia flight G-9537 from Dubai along with other passengers.
The quarantined youths have been identified as and Aashish Gurung of Dordi Rural Municipality-1, Damber Dev Kandel of Rainas Municipality-4, Somraj BK and Krishna Kumar Thapa of Beshisahar Municipality 5 and 2 respectively, Aaitasingh Gurung and Bishnu Mani Bhandari of Marsyangdi Rural Municipality 5 and 9 respectively. It is said that swab samples have already been sent to Kathmandu to test for COVID-19.
