KATHMANDU: As many as 40 staffers, including three secretaries, at Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) have tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to OPMCM, COVID19 has been confirmed in 40 of the 200 employees working at OPMCM in PCR tests carried out in the past two days.
OPMC Spokesperson Joint Secretary Mahadev Panta said secretaries Shishir Kumar Dhungana, Ram Prasad Thapaliya, and Krishna Bahadur Rawat, who was recently promoted from Joint Secretary to Secretary, tested positive for COVID19. Two joint secretaries, including Joint Secretary Manoj Acharya, also have been found infected.
Secretaries Thapaliya and Dhungana contracted the virus a few days ago and since then both have recovered, said Panta.
After they were diagnosed with COVID19, OPMCM had summoned a team from National Public Health Laboratory to conduct a PCR test of other staffers at OPMCM, Panta added. “Few staffers have been tested on Sunday as well and their reports are yet to come.”
OPMCM has disinfected the premises and asked infected officials to stay at home until recovery.
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