50,000 people to be tested for COVID-19 in five days in Kathmandu

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has increased the scope of tests in view of the increasing COVID-19 infection in the metropolis.

The KMC has made preparation to carry out antigen test of 50,000 people in five days from May 28. Swab would be collected from antigen method from 10 centres every day for the test.

Chief of KMC Public Health Department, Hari Bahadur Kunwar, said that there would be a collaboration of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division for the same.

Kunwar shared that the result of the test through antigen would be received immediately and it would help separate the COVID-19 positive in the community for isolation as well as for further test.

COVID-19 infection is found to increase every day in KMC in the recent period due to the dense population at all wards of KMC.

The KMC is going to start this practice to break the contact chain after people started falling ill from a new variant of COVID-19 infection.

Case Investigation and Contact Tracing groups formed in wards would be made active for the tests.

The tests would be carried out considering those showing COVID-19 symptoms, those included in contact tracing, the frontliners, those working during the prohibition and people at high risk as to the targeted groups.

Two testing centres would be set up at every 15 big wards and one testing centre at every 17 small wards of KMC. The Department said some more centres could be added as per requirement.

This type of testing has been conducted at the Kalimati Vegetables and Fruits Market and at Tukucha Vegetable Market before this.

So far the number of infected persons in KMC is 58 thousand 402. Of them, 46 thousand 546 have recovered while 403 have died. The number of active infection cases is 11 thousand 546.

PCR test of 600 persons is carried out daily at the 32 wards of the KMC at present and of them, more than 400 have been testing positive for coronavirus infection, the KMC Public Health Division said.

The KMC has been carrying out PCR tests setting up 16 testing centres since last Sunday following the surge in infection cases.