50,000 antigens tests to be done in Kathmandu Metropolitan City

KATHMANDU: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has extended the scope of testing saying that the spread of COVID-19 infection is increasing. It is preparing to test the antigen of 50,000 people in five days from 28th May to 1st June.

Antigen samples will be collected from 10 centres every day for testing. Hari Bahadur Kunwar, head of the Public Health Department, Kathmandu Metropolitan City informed that the department will work with the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division for this.

According to Chief Kunwar, since this method will bring immediate results in the community, it will be easier to seperate the infected patients from the community through further testing and isolation.

As there are dense settlements in almost all the wards of the metropolis, the number of infections in the Kathmandu metropolitan has been increasing every day lately. The metropolis is doing this to break the contact cycle after people started getting sick from the new variant COVID-19 infection.

It is said that the manpower currently working for this type of test will be added if it is insufficient to carry the test in a large group. The Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Group in the ward will be activated for testing.

All those who show symptoms of COVID or are in contact tracing, those who are in the forefront and working during the prohibitory orders, those who are at risk will be tested as target groups. For testing, two centres will be set up in each of the 15  big wards and one each in 17 small wards. The department has stated that some other centres can be added as per the need.

Earlier, such tests have been conducted in Kalimati Vegetable and Fruit Market and Tukucha Vegetable Market. So far, 58,402 people have been infected in the Kathmandu Metropolitan. Of them, 46,546 have been cured and 403 have died due to COVID. At present, 11 thousand 546 are actively infected.

According to the Public Health Division of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, PCR tests of 600 people from 32 wards of Kathmandu Metropolis are being conducted daily and more than 400 of them have been confirmed. Since last Sunday, Kathmandu Metropolis has been conducting PCR testing in 16 centres.

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