KATHMANDU, April 14: The total number of COVID-19 cases detected in Nepal so far reached 14 with infection confirmed in two more persons confirmed on Monday, according to officials.
A 65-year-old woman from Kailali district, and a 19-year-old male from Rautahat district tested positive for the virus Monday, Dr Bikash Devkota, spokesperson for the Ministry for Health and Population, told during a regular press briefing on Monday. The two new cases were confirmed at Kathmandu-based National Public Health Laboratory.
Although the total number of cases detected has climbed to 14, a China returnee Nepali student has already recovered from the virus after treatment. So the number of active cases is currently 13.
It has been learnt that the 65-year-old patient used to run a tea stall in Birgunj. The woman had reached Kailali just before the start of the nationwide lockdown. As she had traveled from Parsa, which is a district bordering India, the local administration sent her to a quarantine set up at Lamki Multiple Campus, Lamkichuha Municipality-1. The woman had shared the quarantine facility with several other Nepali nationals, who had returned from India.
Test, test, test
Initially, the woman had tested negative for COVID-19 through a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) during the 14-day quarantine. Then, her throat swab sample was sent to Kathmandu for further tests.
Currently, the woman is undergoing treatment at Seti Provincial Hospital in Dhangadhi. The health condition of the woman is normal, according to the Ministry of Health.
The 19-year-old male, who tested positive, was in a quarantine facility in Rautahat district. According to the ministry, it was preparing to take the patient to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
The government is tracing the contact of those who had come in the contact with the two patients, said spokesperson Devkota.
In the meantime, the ministry also informed that the swab samples of 28 Indians – staying at a mosque in Parsa – have tested negative for the virus. The ministry also informed that the government is aggressively tracing the contacts of the three patients, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.
During the press briefing, the ministry also urged the public to follow the lockdown enforced by the government. “In the last few days, the number of COVID-19 cases has risen. So it is important for us [public] to follow the order of the government,” Devkota added.
Of the 13 active cases of COVID-19 in Nepal, two patients are admitted at the Teku Hospital in Kathmandu, while the remaining 11 are admitted to different hospitals outside the capital.
Till Monday evening, the Kathmandu-based NPHL has tested 5,691 swab samples, while different laboratories outside Kathmandu have tested 1,259 samples, according to Devkota.
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