Chitwan, August 18

The people in Chitwan now have access to PCR test for coronavirus infection if they pay from their pockets from today, after Chitwan Medical College got approval to conduct tests.

Chief Executive Director of the college Pratap Devkota said that tests of the hospital’s health workers and officials were initiated on the first day after it got the nod from the authorities.

It is said that the general public’s swab samples would be tested from today itself.

The preliminary result conducted here will be sent to Bharatpur Hospital COVID-19 Laboratory for re-examination, he added.

It is said that each test in the hospital will cost Rs 6,050.

The hospital said that swabs of 400 individuals could be tested in six hours and the college has assigned eight technicians for the PCR test.

The college claimed that Rs 54 million was spent to fix the laboratory for the coronavirus test.

In Chitwan, coronavirus infection was confirmed in the Armed Police Force personnel deployed to rescue of disaster victims. A number of APF personnel from No 3 Gadhimai Brigade mobilised for the rescue operation in the flood-hit areas tested positive for the virus.

The virus was confirmed in 42 APF personnel when their swabs were sent for tests after eight personnel mobilised for rescue operations tested positive for the virus, Chief of Chitwan Health Office Dipak Tiwari said.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 19, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.