Four coronavirus suspects test negative

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, March 3 From among five persons suspected to have been infected with coronavirus, who were admitted to the isolation ward of
Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku, four have tested negative for the disease. Three of the four persons had returned
from South Korea
One patient is a Chinese national from Beijing
All four are men aged above 20
All of them were discharged from the hospital today. &The report of one patient, who was admitted on Monday will be available tomorrow,&
said Dr Anup Bastola, spokesperson for Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital. Throat swab and blood samples of the suspected
patients were sent to National Public Health Laboratory for examination. A patient aged 54 was admitted to the hospital today on the
suspicion of contracting coronavirus
&The patient whohad returned from Qatar has been suffering from fever and respiratory illness for the past seven days
He was brought to the hospital following his health screening at the health desk of Tribhuvan International Airport
He is currently at the isolation ward
His blood and throat swab samples will be sent to the laboratory tomorrow,& said Bastola. As the government has been taking several
decisions to prevent spread of the disease in the country of late, Ministry of Health and Population today increased the number of staffers
at the health desk at TIA
Earlier there were 12 staffers in the health desk. The numbers has been increased to 19. &At least five persons will be deployed at the
health desk round the clock from now,& said Dr Bikash Devkota, spokesperson at health ministry. Though the ministry has added manpower at
the health desk its thermal scanner, which stopped functioning has yet to be maintained
Talking to mediapersons in the capital today Dr Devkota said, &We have been collecting masks from the market and are planning to distribute
them among the public
A total of 25,000 masks have been collected.& With the number of coronvirus cases rising globally Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Hospital
has been admitting suspected patients
&The hospital has admitted 23 suspected patients till now
Of them only one tested positive,& said Dr Bastola. Demands for personal protective equipments are also on the rise
&We have asked our management and logistics department to provide us with personal protective equipment. We will get it within a week time,&
Dr Bastola added. Doctors have suggested people to maintain personal hygiene as preventive measure against the disease
&One must use mask, wash hands with soap and water and refrain from touching eyes, mouth and nose,& Dr Bastola suggested. The post Four
coronavirus suspects test negative appeared first on The Himalayan Times.