Jhapa/Bhairahawa, Jan 29

A health desk was brought into operation to test for coronavirus at Kakadbhitta in Jhapa today.

People entering Nepal from third countries were tested at Bhansar Bindu of the eastern border.

People with fever, common cold and cough were checked for coronavirus at the desk. High alert was maintained at the border point while screening hundreds of tourists from Bhutan, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Chief District Officer Udaya Bahadur Rana said the health desk was brought into operation after two health workers were deployed from 7:00am to 7:00pm.

Assistant Chief Ishwori Poudel at Jhapa Health Office said the health workers would check people who came from third countries. He said suspects would be kept in an isolation Room at Kakadbhitta Health Post and checked whether they were infected with the corona virus.

Mayor of Mechinagar Municipality Bimal Acharya said that a high alert was sounded in the border area aiming to prevent possible outbreak of the virus due to the open border.

A team led by Chief at Kakadbhitta Health Post Tal Bahadur Khadka has been supervising the help desk and isolation room.

Meanwhile, the Indian side has set up a health desk on the  Nepal-India border near Sunauli entry point to screen foreign tourists  entering India from Nepal in a bid to check possible coronavirus.

The health desk has been set up on the Das Gaza area near Sunauli entry  point for the purpose.

Tourists from Japan, China, Thailand, Korea and Italy, among others, have been targeted for screening.

According to  sources, the desk has sent 24 tourists from China and Thailand back home after they were seen  with suspected symptoms of coronavirus yesterday when the desk was set  up.

At a time when India has set up camps to screen the  tourists, authorities in Nepal seem to have fallen behind on taking up  similar initiatives in the bordering districts with India.

So far, one person in Nepal has been tested positive for  coronavirus.