ITAHARI: Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City has sealed off two wards -- 2 and 3 -- after a resident tested positive for COVID-19.

The 18-year-old youth's throat swab was tested through the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method at the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences on Monday.

Ward chair of Itahari -2, Harka Bahadur Magar was quoted in Rastriya Samachar Samiti as saying that the youth may have come in contact with a COVID-19 patient while taking part in a marriage procession in Dharan.

The infected had been preparing for recruitment as a British Gurkha soldier after he returned from Khotang district about six months ago. ''According to the youth’s relatives, he had been suffering from fever for the past 20 days and had been approaching shamans and some local clinics'', the ward chair said, and added, ''We have urged the provincial government for his contact tracing and testing of all associated people.''

The ward Chair said the sealing off of the ward would be in effect until May 24.

Meanwhile, as of Tuesday afternoon, Province 1 has witnessed 54 proven COVID-19 cases including 33 from Udayapur district, 12 from Jhapa, three each from Morang and Sunsari and one each from Bhojpur, Dhankuta and Khotang.

According to Corona Information Desk under the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers of Province 1, 17 have recovered from the respiratory contagion.

As many as 3,161 tests have been carried out through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method and 9,473 Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT).

Testing facilities are available in Dharan as well as in the province capital Biratnagar.