Isolation facility set up in Dhankuta Municipality.

DHANKUTA, AUGUST 30

The isolation ward set up at Audhodikgram for the treatment of coronavirus patients have come into operation in Dhankuta Municipality, Dhankuta, from today.

According to Dhankuta District Health Office, the isolation facility with 20 beds was brought into operation from today. The municipality has also set up a quarantine facility in the same building. The health office added that as many as 19 people, who tested positive yesterday, have been kept in the isolation centre due to lack of beds in the hospital. Earlier, the infected were compelled to go to BP Koirala Institute of Health and Sciences, Koshi Zonal Hospital, Biratnagar and Gothagaun-based quarantine facilities.

Tulasi Prasad Guaragain, chief at the health office said that two crore budget was released from the corona fund to establish the isolation service with 40 beds, including our ventilators and an ICU ward with six beds. He said that the federal government was preparing to set up ventilators for COVID infected persons.

Nepal Red Cross Society Dhankuta District Branch President Hari Kumar Rai said the Red Cross had provided 30 blankets, 10 buckets, 10 plastic jugs, one stretcher and seven dozen washing soaps.

Guaragain said that the process of buying the PCR machine would start after the federal government released Rs 1 crore for the same. He added that the PCR machine would be installed within two weeks.

The swab samples collected from Dhankuta, Tehrathum, Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur, among other hilly districts, would be tested at the district hospital.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 31, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.