Three Indians in Birjung test positive as virus cases climb to 12 in Nepal

KATHMANDU, April 12: Three Indian nationals staying in Birgunj of Parsa districts have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The National Public Health Laboratory confirmed the result on Sunday taking the total cases in Nepal to 12.

They were scheduled to return home—one from New Delhi and two from Uttar Pradesh—after attending a Muslim religious festival in Saptari district but were left stranded in Nepal due to nationwide lockdown which remains in effect until April 15. They had been sheltering in a mosque in Chhapakaiya, Birgunj-2 for the past two weeks, according to locals.

Their swab samples were tested positive in a new lab established in Hetuada and sent to the national laboratory for verification.

According to the Health and Population Ministry,  they are aged 37, 55 and 44 and are kept at the Narayani Hospital in Birgunj along with other 21 suspected individuals.

The authorities are carrying out contact tracing of all the individuals who had come to contact with the new COVID-19 patients.