The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has said that it has widened lab test facility and test range across Nepal for the diagnosis of COVID- 19.

Speaking at the regular media briefing on Wednesday, spokesperson at Minitry of Health and Population (MoHP) Dr Bikash Devkota said that 3000 specimens of coronavirus suspects had been tested as of Thursday.

Among these, 2382 samples were tested at the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) in Kathmandu and 513 samples were tested in various labs outside the valley and additional 193 samples are currently final stage of testing

Dr Devkota informed that Ministry has already dispatched 5000 each Rapid Diagnostic Test Kit to Seven Provinces to test people currently in quarantine.

According to Dr Devkota, the entire test carried out for the past four days have come negative for COVID-19. Likewise, 198 samples of Kailali and Kanchanpur taken through Rapid Diagnostic Test has already arrived in Kathmandu.

Dr Devkota said that the specimen collection of coronavirus suspected from Dadeldhura and Darchula will arrive Kathmandu tomorrow. “We are collecting more than 500 samples from these two districts,” said Dr Devkota.

He said that 802 samples collected from Achham, Jumla and Surkhet districts has already tested at NPHL.

The sample test is being carried out at ten places of all the seven states. As per the details entered in mobile application and website of MoHP, 180 returnees were in the red zone meaning they could be COVID-19 suspects. The tracing of all those suspects is going on, said Dr Devkota.

He said 117 people were undergoing treatment in isolation wards in various hospitals, of which 19 were undergoing treatment in Kathmandu.

Dr Devkota informed that 7940 foreign returnees were in quarantine across the country as of Thursday. The district level COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre has been set up in all the districts for combating the crisis triggered by coronavirus infection, said Dr Devkota.