JHAPA: More than 200 Nepali citizens are currently living near the bordering region of Jhapa waiting to return home.
They are stationed at neighboring Indian market towns like Galgaliya, Pani Tanki, Naxarbadi and other areas, according to Nepal Red Cross Society, Jhapa president Lok Raj Dhakal.
Some of them are in the quarantine run by the Indian authorities, some are with their relatives while some are stranded, said Dhakal. Of them, 150 have already registered their names to return home following due procedures.
Meanwhile, the Jhapa district administration has begun preparation to bring the Nepali stranded across the border.
A 200-bed quarantine is being set up at the Mechi multiple campus in Bhadrapur, according to Chief District Officer Udaya Bahadur Rana.
Upon arrival, they will be quarantined and allowed to go home only after the test of coronavirus.
As of Friday, 794 people have undergone tests for coronavirus in the district, including 761 through the Rapid Diagnostic Test. Four tested positive in RDT while the 100 tested negative in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. Seven more PCR tests are awaited, epidemic program coordinator of Health Office, Jhapa, Jeevan Chamlagain said.
Meanwhile, swab collection for coronavirus tests will begin in Damak today. The special effort to check the spread of the virus is being made in Damak after a 62-year-old man was found infected with Corona Virus.
The area surrounding the house of the infected person and the nearby Bhutanese refugee camp has been sealed off as a preventive measure before the test begins, said Deputy Mayor of Damak Gita Adhikari.
Comment