LAHAN, July 20: All family members of a 73-year-old man, who died of COVID-19 in Rajbiraj Municipality of Saptari last week, have tested positive for coronavirus.

The septuagenarian was admitted to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, after having breathing difficulties on July 14. Then the throat swab samples of 23 local residents including the old man and five members of his family were collected and sent for testing at the Gajendra Narayan Singh Sagarmatha Hospital laboratory in Rajbiraj. He was the senior-most member of the family, according to locals.

"The throat swab samples of the old man and his family members turned out positive for COVID-19 during a test at the laboratory," Duniya Lal Yadav, chief of the District Health Office told Republica.   

Local authorities said that their entire house has been converted to an isolation center, and the deceased family members who tested positive for the virus are undergoing treatment.

"There is a corona hospital near their home and doctors are available for the COVID-19 infected family at any time," the district health chief said.

The old man who died of coronavirus was a shopkeeper. 17 local residents who used to frequently come to his shop also underwent COVID-19 testing. "Among them, one person who used to come to his shop tested negative for coronavirus. Throat swab specimens of the rests of others were collected and sent for testing and reports are awaited," Yadav said.  

Meanwhile, Saptari witnessed 12 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday alone. One person has succumbed to coronavirus infection in the district as of today. So far, the district has reported 378 cases of coronavirus including 200 cases of recovery.

 
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