With the mounting cases of infections, the spread of COVID-19 in Banke has gone out of control in recent times.

Dr. Sanket Risal, information officer of the hospital said that of all 142 beds including 102 beds of isolation ward and 40 isolation beds were already occupied with COVID-19 patients.

According to the hospital laboratory, the majority of people who tested positive were symptomatic with high fever and difficulty in breathing.

The Bheri Hospital has stated that swab collection and testing at the community level was important in order to ascertain the current scenario of COVID-19 in Banke.

With the beginning of a new year, the novel coronavirus has been spreading aggressively across the district. In 81 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests done in Bheri Hospital on Sunday, 75 persons were detected with COVID19, increasing the infection rate to a whopping 92.6 percent.

The infection rate has gone up alarmingly in the district which further proves that the virus is spreading uncontrollably, the doctors at Bheri Hospital said.

Dr. Prakash Thapa, Chief of the Bheri Hospital, said, "The infection rate as of Sunday is 92.6 percent. This shows that people in large number have been infected with the virus."

Stating that there was an utter need of conducting tests at the community level, Dr. Thapa said that the concerned stakeholders must pay attention to the increasing rate of infection immediately.

"Considering the grave situation of Banke, there is no other alternative than imposing a lockdown to check the spread," Dr. Thapa added.

According to the district COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre, Banke, and 200 people were found infected with the virus on Friday and 166 cases were reported on Saturday.

Source: The Rising Nepal