"On Tuesday, 85 individuals of Baitadi District arrived in Nepal via Gauriphanta and Gaddachauki checkpoints of Sudur Paschim, and all of them were sent to their respective local levels," Chief District Officer Ananda Poudel said. Of them, 38 are from Dogdakedar Rural Municipality followed by Dasharathchand Municipality-17, and Sunarya Rural Municipality-11. The officials said that Patan Municipality and Melauli Municipality have six India returnees each, while two are from Purchaudi Municipality and two from Shivanath Rural Municipality.
Entering into Nepal, the Sudur Paschim State Government had made arrangements to send them to their districts. As the number of locals coming home from India has increased, the local level has asked them to stay in self-quarantine. Against this backdrop, health workers fear that villagers are more at risk than cities. The District Administration Office, Baitadi said that it is searching for the local people who arrived home from India during the past week.
CDO Poudel said that the entrants would be asked to stay in self-quarantine after collecting their data through the people’s representatives and health workers at the local levels.
Meanwhile, test specimens of two individuals receiving treatments in isolation wards after coming from India have been sent to the National Public Health Laboratory, Kathmandu. One is a youth from Purchaudi and the other is a 58-year woman from Dasharathchand Municipality. The two were kept in isolation after they developed a high fever, Basantaraj Joshi of the District Hospital said. The woman came home from Sukhad of Kailali district 10 days ago while the youth is learned to have arrived in Nepal by crossing the Mahakali River after the Nepal-India border was sealed off. Four other youth, who also arrived by crossing the river is also in isolation.
With the huge number of returnees from different countries, mostly from India, the local level coordinators at the district have prepared isolation wards and also quarantine areas in preparation against the spread of COVID-19.
