Kathmandu, September 2 The government is planning to study the spread of coronavirus infection at the community-level. Epidemiology and Infectious Disease Control Division at the Ministry of Health and Population is to carry out a study whether or not the COVID-19 infection has spread in community level. It will also examine those who have no travel history. Coronavirus has now entered into the second phase in Nepal. Transmission of the virus from coronavirus infected to another person means second-phase infection. The ministry announced that the coronavirus infection has entered into the second phase after the virus was transmitted to another local person from the coronavirus infected person of Kailali district, who had returned from abroad in April. The third phase of infection means the infection spreading in the community. Director at the division Basudev Pandey said the division has started to study whether or not the coronavirus infection has spread in the community after a large number of coronavirus cases started to surface. Earlier in May, the division had carried out a study to know whether or not the coronavirus infection had spread in community-level in Kathmandu valley and drawn the conclusion that it had not spread in community level. The coronavirus infection rate has now increased in Kathmandu valley. Director Pandey said, “It appears that the infection has spread at the community level. It will be proved only after conducting a study.” The Division has started to study with the technical support of World Health Organisation. The division would select employees till Friday for the study and the employees would be sent in all provinces following their training. Blood samples of the persons who have not gone anywhere in the past six weeks of COVID-19 infection hit places would be collected. Antibodies of women, men, children and elderly persons would be tested. The blood samples collected from all seven provinces would be sent to the National Public Health Lab, Teku, for testing. The team would be dispatched to all seven provinces to collect blood samples within next week. A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 3, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.