By Arjun Kafle, Syangja, June 22: Infection of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 has been reported in 13 people including 10 of a single ward of Arjun Chaupari Rural Municipality in Syangja district, taking the district tally to 99.

Of the newly infected, 10 are from Arjun Chaupari Rural Municipality-5, one person from ward 4 of the same municipality and two persons from Kaligandaki Rural Municipality.

In Arjun Chaupari-5, the infected include five males, three children aged 7 and others aged 14, 16, 30, 31 and 38 and two females, a six year old girl child and a 50-year old woman.

A male aged 50 of ward 4 of the same RM and a 48-year old male of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality were also found positive for the virus, according to Dr. Binod Bindu Sharma, director of Provincial Health Directorate, Pokhara.

12 of the infected are India-returnees while one is a person without travel history. The infected have been staying in the quarantine set up at Ghante Secondary School ever since they returned on May 30 and their swab was collected on June 10 for testing.

Out of 99 confirmed cases in the district, one has died from the disease while seven have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

Fear grips people as infection is found in a local

People in Arjun Chaupari and Panchmul are scared after a 55-year old local person of ward 4 without any travel history has been found infected with the virus. The person runs a grocery, fancy garments cum snack house at Panchamul in Adhikhola-1.

Contact tracing in Arjun Chaupari and Panchmul has been accelerated with the detection of virus infection in a person who runs a business. The person first went to Fewa City hospital as he suffered from fever but admission was denied there and then he reached Gandaki Regional Hospital where he tested positive for COVID-19.

The local market including all services in Arujun Chaupari have been shut down until another notice as people who were in close contact with the infected were found to have visited Arjun Chaupari, according to Kamal Prasad Gautam, chief administrative officer of the rural municipality. People in other places of the rural municipality have been urged to take precautionary measures with high alert.

Ventilator at Syangja district hospital

Universal Anesthesia with a ventilator has been made available at Syangja district hospital located at Putali Bazar Municipality-3.

Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Padma Aryal, took the initiative for ensuring availability of the ventilator in the district hospital.

Importance of ventilator has grown more at this time when number of COVID-19 cases has increased in the district.

Dr. Sushil Marasini, physician at the district hospital, said that the ventilator was the first of its kind in the district as this machine was also for making the patient unconscious and it could be used to help patient with extreme respiratory problem to breathe.

Rajesh Sharma, personal secretary of Minister Aryal, handed over the machine to Lokraj Sharma and Dr. Sushil Marasin, chairman of the hospital management committee and chief of the hospital respectively.

The machine will be brought into use after the machine is installed by a biomedical engineer and the doctors, nurses and lab technicians are provided a training. On behalf of minister Aryal, her personal secretary Sharma also handed over about 50 personal protective equipment for health workers to Dr. Marasini who made it clear that the PPEs would also be sent to other hospitals in the district if needed.