Jhapa, August 20 The coronavirus spread at the community level was confirmed for the first time in the southern part of Jhapa after people tested positive at Gaurigunj Rural Municipality in the district. Department of Health Chief Ram Chandra Mishra said the infection had spread in the community level after a 30-year-old man of the rural municipality tested positive. With the initiative of the rural municipality and Chamber of Commerce, Gaurigunj, swabs of 61 persons were collected for PCR test and sent to Koshi Corona Hospital, Biratnagar, on August 16. Of the 61 swab samples, the youth tested positive. The infected is said to be a local businessman. Gaurigunj RM Chairman Raj Babu Shrestha said the RM was preparing to carry out contact tracing, seal the bazaar area and forbid people’s movement. Similarly, the laboratory set up to test pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables brought from India has been found in a dilapidated state at Birtamod in Jhapa. The staffers there are compelled to carry out work from a single room. The risk of the infection has also increased. Technician Rachana Karki said the COVID infection risk had increased as fruits and vegetables were brought from infected areas in India. Another technician, Islam Ansari, said the risk of other diseases had also increased as they had to test from a congested room. He added that very dangerous chemicals were kept inside one room for carrying out the test, which was also life threatening. A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 21, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.