By Govinda Sharma, Banke, Aug. 3: Flow of COVID-19 patients in Bheri Hospital, Nepalgunj has been on the rise lately.

Tej Oli, focal person of District COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre, Banke, said that the district had been observing resurging COVID-19 cases from the end of July.

"As the infection rate has been increasing of late, the time has come to adopt strict safety measures against the virus at the community level," said Oli.

Until July 20, only 18 virus-infected patients were receiving treatment in Bheri Hospital. But as of Tuesday, the number of active patients in Bheri Hospital alone has reached 37, Oli informed.

The number of new infections being confirmed daily is also increasing.

Although the prohibitory order is going on in the district, the threat of infection has increased as people are avoiding public health standards. Many authorities have also been conducting awareness programmes about the importance of abiding by health and safety protocols.

Of 152 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests done on Monday, 26 people were found infected with the virus in the district.

Meanwhile, the District COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre has said that preparations had begun to battle the forthcoming third wave of the pandemic.

Until now, Nepalgunj has reported 699 COVID-19 related deaths of which, 322 were from Banke itself while 377 were from other districts.