Jhapa, August 19 COVID-19 infection appears to be spreading fast in Jhapa’s Damak Municipality with as many as 13 persons testing positive for the virus today. Their swab samples had been collected a few days ago and sent for testing. According to Nagendra Bhattarai, an officer at the municipality health section, the infected cases include three Armed Police Force personnel and two Nepal Telecom Damak staff members, aged 37 and 40. Similarly, a 31-year-old man staying in home quarantine in Damak 5 has also been confirmed with the virus, seven foreign returnees who have been staying in quarantine at Dahal Pratisthan have also been diagnosed positive for the virus. The foreign returnees now diagnosed positive for the virus are residents of various wards in the municipality with their age ranging between 21 and 44. Six of the positive cases today don’t have any travel history. Meanwhile, following the signs of community spread of the virus, the municipality has enforced a weeklong lockdown across the local body from Sunday. Daily activities in the entire municipality have come to a grinding halt due to the lockdown meant to control the infection. A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 20, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.