By Lilaraj Jhapali, Birtamod, May 19: The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) confirmed nine new COVID-19 cases in Kachankawal of Jhapa district in the daily press briefing held today.

It is found that they had come home from Mumbai, India, and sneaked thorugh corn field stretching across the border.

After COVID-19 infection was detected in a person on Monday, contact tracing was performed where, nine more persons who had come in contact with the patient tested positive for the virus, informed the Ministry of Social Development of State 1.

With this, the COVID-19 tally in Jhapa itself has reached 12 including a case of recovery.

The first COVID-19 infected person of Kechana was held by the police while he was trying to sneak into Nepal from India. The police had placed him, along with 33 others in quarantine.

In the PCR test done at Koshi Hospital, nine out of 33 tested COVID-19 positive on Tuesday. They had entered Nepal from Mumbai, India through corn field on May 15 and 16.

The newly identified COVID-19 patients are being taken to Biratnagar for treatment, informed Jageshwor Yadav, head of the health section of Kachankawal Rural Municipality .

Out of 10 COVID-19 patients of Jhapa, eight are from Kachankawal RM-6 and one each are from ward no. 4 and 5.

"The police had quarantined them immediately as they entered Nepal, said Durga Poudel," chief administrative officer of Kachankawal RM. "They didn’t get to reach to their homes. Thus, their family members are out of danger."

Poudel said that the lockdown would be enforced more strictly in the RM to prevent the spread of virus.

Following relaxation of lockdown in India, many Nepalis are heading home and getting stranded at the border as the Indian governmental vehicles are leaving them at the border.

As many as 47 Nepalis who had been working at various places of India were left at the border on Tuesday itself.

Their respective local levels have been rescuing the stranded Nepalis from the border and placing them in quarantine.