Chitwan, April 19  : The close relatives of two people diagnosed with the COVID-19 infection in the district have tested negative in the rapid diagnostic test (RDT.    
The two persons from Rapti municipality-8 had recently returned home by the Qatar Airways flight on March 16 from the United Kingdom via Hong Kong. The tests of eight people including two drivers who came into their contact were conducted at Rapti municipality and in Bharatpur. The anti-body results of all came negative, said Public Health Office Chitwan's chief Deepak Tiwari.    
They have been quarantined at the Brahmanagar Secondary School based in Rapti municipality-1. Though the infected developed no noticeable symptoms of COVID-19, all those coming into their close contact have been put in quarantine to prevent the risk of further infection. Besides, preparations are on to put locals and those who met with the infected in quarantine, Rapti municipality mayor Prabha Baral said.    
People from outside have been prohibited from entering the Rapti municipality Ward-8. It has been challenging to trace all people coming into their contact as the two had landed in Kathmandu on March 16 and arrived in Chitwan following a two-day stay in Kathmandu.    
Traffic police is searching for a micro-bus they had used to arrive in Chitwan from Kathmandu. The infected are under the isolation care at Bharatpur Hospital. With the detection of the virus in the district, lockdown rules have been further tightened, said Chitwan Chief District Officer Narayan Prasad Bhattarai.