KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), in its regular press briefing, shared the latest COVID-19 updates from across the country, as of today.

As many as 8,081 laboratory tests (through Polymerase Chain Reaction method) have been carried out in  the country to detect COVID-19 infection in order to curb its spread.

It was made public that 21,486 Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) — to detect the presence of antibodies in the blood sample — have been run across the country, till date.

Spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Bikash Devkota shared that  29,567 tests to scout the patients of coronavirus infection have been carried out until today of which 2,167 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

Currently, there are 5,180 people under quarantine in various facilities across the country while 103 are under isolation. Among those isolated, five are in Kathmandu valley while the remaining 98 are outside.

The government-established helpline call-centres (1115/1133) have answered 2,241 queries regarding COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Likewise, 20,834 entries have been made through the government’s mobile application Hamro Swasthya and web portal covid.mohp.gov.np until today. Of these, 704 entries were made in the last 24 hours.

Six new persons have been added to the red-zone list in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of those in the red zone to 260. The contact tracing of these persons is underway, said Spokesperson Devkota.

The Ministry today officially announced that equipment to run PCR testing has been installed at Bheri hospital where currently eight swab samples are being tested. With this addition, there are 15 PCR equipments across the country.

Earlier, in order to cross verify, the samples that tested positive on PCR tests across the country were sent to the National Public Health Laboratory at Teku, which made the process time consuming.

However, the Ministry today notified that the samples which will test positive on PCR testing at the Bheri hospital and the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences will lead to direct confirmation without further referral.

All of those infected have been reported to be in normal health condition and are receiving treatment in various health facilities across the country.

In the now considered hotspot of the novel virus infection in the country, Udaypur district, 69 samples from those likely to have contracted infection have been collected. Moreover, the case investigation and contact tracing of the earlier infected in the district is underway, added Dr Devkota. The government aims to collect around 250 samples from the area.

In one of today’s major developments, a 21-year-old patient receiving treatment at the Seti provincial Hospital is about to be discharged (now discharged) after testing negative for COVID-19 in two consecutive tests.

Including this case, four patients have recovered from the contagion as of today, giving a hint of hope while the number of infections in Nepal is on the rise.

Dr Devkota, speaking on behalf of the patients, appealed to the public to refrain from making hateful and discriminatory comments on COVID-19 patients, stating support of family and community is crucial to keep their spirits high.

while urging to adopt necessary precautionary measures to curb the infection.