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.

The total number of tests to scout the patients of COVID-19 infection has now reached 57,189 including 11,524 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests and 45,665 Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT), of which 2,367 tests were run in the last 24 hours.

At present, there are 22,901 people under quarantine in various facilities across the country.

Furthermore, 87 persons are in isolation. Among those isolated, four are in Kathmandu valley while the remaining 83 are outside.

The government’s mobile application Hamro Swasthya and web portal covid19.mohp.gov.np have registered 570 entries in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of self-evaluated entries to 28,695.

One new person has been added to the red-zone list in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of those in the red zone to 310. Contact tracing of those in the red zone is being carried out by the concerned authorities, said Spokesperson Devkota.

Three additional cases of COVID-19 infection in the country have been officially confirmed by the ministry. A 46-year-old male from Parsa district and two other males of ages 31 and 43 years from Bara district have tested positive for the infection. Their swab samples were tested at Kathmandu-based National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL).

It was informed at the briefing that those who tested positive for the virus today had returned from Delhi along with other patients who had  earlier been admitted to the Birgunj-based Narayani Hospital for COVID-19 transmission. They are currently receiving treatment at the isolation ward of Narayani Hospital in Birgunj.

As of today, the country has witnessed 57 cases of coronavirus infection while 16 persons have recovered from the disease.

With the recovery of 16 persons, 41 are currently receiving treatment at various health facilities across the country — one in Dhangadhi, one in Bharatpur, eight in Birgunj, and 31 in Biratnagar. All patients have been reported in normal health condition.

Dr Bikash Devkota, speaking on behalf of the ministry, appealed to the public to refrain from stigmatising the foreign returnees, who are at risk of contraction, as this might discourage people from undergoing testing, obstructing discovery of prevalent cases, which would further add to the risk of transmission.

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