Jeep driver carrying COVID-19 woman identified, shows no corona symptoms

Kathmandu - A jeep driver who transported a 19-year-old woman before she tested positive for COVID-19 to her home in Baglung from Pokhara has been identified. The woman who had returned home from Belgium was tested positive for COVID-19 last Saturday. It had been known she reserved a jeep to reach to her home after landing in Pokhara from Kathmandu via a domestic flight. The driver of Scorpio jeep is a permanent resident of Pokhara metropolis-25 and he presently self-isolates at his home. He is under the surveillance of a team comprising health workers and local representatives. His body temperature is normal and shows no symptoms of coronavirus. Health workers are measuring his temperature thrice a day, said ward chair Surya Prasad Lamsal. She is the fifth person confirmed to have been infected by the coronavirus and had shared the flight with the second infected from Qatar.

A search for the jeep driver was launched with the revelation that the woman had caught the jeep in Pokhara. He himself came into contact with local representatives on Sunday. He visited the Pokhara Academy of Health and Sciences same day and was advised for keeping oneself at self-isolation as he developed no corona-related symptoms. However, locals have demand for testing of his swab. PAHS director Dr Binod Bindu Sharma said the health condition of driver and those who came into his contact is normal and he has been advised for self-isolating at home. A total of 33 swab samples from suspected were collected in the Gandaki state till Monday evening and 20 reports have come negative while a woman from Baglung has tested positive for COVID-19 while results of remaining cases are awaited.

So far, 64 quarantine facilities consisting of 1,352 beds have been set up in several districts under the state for the prevention of spread of coronavirus. Similarly, 299 isolation beds have been readied in several hospitals, as informed by State Health Directorate, Pokhara. So far, 105 people have been provided consultations about COVID-19 and other health issues from the 'Hello Doctor Hotline Service' launched by the Directorate's State Health Emergency Work Operation Center. The service is available from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm each day.