KATHMANDU, April 4: The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) on Friday urged the public to fill correct information about themselves in a newly-launched mobile application on COVID-19, after finding that the information – addresses, phone numbers, names – entered by many people were incorrect.
On Sunday, the government had launched a mobile application named 'Hamro Swasthya' with information about the coronavirus.
The application helps people identify if they are infected with the virus. The application identifies if patients have contracted the virus based on the symptoms filled by the suspects themselves.
Finding your voice
In a press briefing Friday, Dr Bikas Devkota, spokesperson for the MoHP, said that a total of 5,626 entries have been recorded in the app. “Of them, 107 people are in the red zone, which means they might have contracted the virus. But, we found that information such as addresses, phone numbers and names entered by many people were incorrect,” said Devkota, urging the public to fill correct information only.
Through the application, the public can also get information on the total number of infected persons in the country and number of individuals in isolation and quarantine and other information related to COVID-19 and hospitals.
In the meantime, Devkota also informed the press that the swab samples of 96 individuals – quarantined at Kharipati in Bhaktapur – have been collected for COVID testing. On March 26, the government had sent them to the quarantine facility as they had come from countries hit by the coronavirus.
Likewise, Devkota also said that a patient who was reportedly tested in Pokhara has not been tested positive for COVID-19. “The swab sample of the patient is being brought to Kathmandu for testing at the government-run National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL),” he said, adding that the government is planning to expand the virus testing capacity throughout the country.
“The contact tracing of the sixth COVID-19 patient from Baglung has already started,” said Devkota, adding that 120 patients are in isolation across the country. Of the 120 patients, 15 are in Kathmandu, while the remaining are in other districts.
Till Friday, NPHL has tested a total of 1,294 samples, of which six have come positive.
