Lately the western and far-western districts have emerged as high risk zone in terms of the Covid-19 transmission. The latest three infected people were detected in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts in far-western Nepal. One of the infected persons, a woman, was locally transmitted with the virus. This is the first case of infection in which someone infected abroad passed his virus to his relative in Nepal. A man who had returned home from a Gulf country had transmitted the virus to the wife of his elder brother. This is a single case but of serious kind which calls for extra caution and more rigorous discipline of staying isolated and protected. Two more cases of infection in the far-western districts involved men who had returned home from Mumbai and Uttarakhand of India. Thousands of Nepalis in the western and far-western districts of the country have returned home in hordes after India declared 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. Some are still crossing the border, often stealthily, into Nepal.

Secret border crossings into Nepal from India have been reported at different places which calls for wider and more stringent police patrolling and vigilance. Some people have taken the risky avenue of swimming across the Mahakali River or using makeshift rafts to come to Nepal. At this time of virus’s pandemic, one should be guided by the stay-where-you-are rule and should stay away from making a rush and forming crowds. The denser the presence of people, the more risky the situation. Lockdowns are enforced to avert such risks which every citizen needs to respect with due understanding though things might often be tedious and difficult. The governments concerned, however, need to make sure that stranded people have access to food to eat and shelter to sleep. Some non-Nepali people are also said to have crossed the border on the pretext of meeting their relatives. Whoever crosses the border should be put in isolation and should not be let freely to mingle with other people. Distance has to be strictly maintained even with the family members of the same household.

In this respect, the Ministry of Health and Population is going to speed up the process of virus testing in Kailali, Kanchanpur and Baglung districts. A cabinet meeting held on Sunday decided to conduct the rapid diagnostic tests in these districts. Health officials of the government and concerned medical experts have held a meeting to give new momentum to the virus’s diagnosis. Officials and experts from the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Nepal Public Health Laboratory and Nepal Health Research Council have formed a team and provided necessary orientation for conducting the rapid tests. The mass testing will help to diagnose the infection and help take urgent measures such as isolating and treating the people. People coming from abroad have been the main source of virus infection in Nepal. Therefore, it is urgent to keep screening process at the border points as well as banning flight for some time based on the advice of medical experts.