Three Indians in Birjung test positive as virus cases climb to 12 in Nepal

APRIL -12, KATHMANDU –Three Indian nationals staying in Birgunj of Parsa districts have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The National Public Health Laboratory confirmed the result on Sunday taking the total cases in Nepal to 12.

They were scheduled to return home—one from New Delhi and two from Uttar Pradesh—after attending a Muslim religious festival in Saptari district but were left stranded in Nepal due to nationwide lockdown which remains in effect until April 15. They had been sheltering in a mosque in Chhapakaiya, Birgunj-2 for the past two weeks, according to locals.

Their swab samples were tested positive in a new lab established in Hetuada and sent to the national laboratory for verification.

Following the confirmation, all the individuals staying in the mosque have been isolated at the Narayani Hospital

Meanwhile, the police quarantined 26 Indian Muslims in an isolation facility set up at Siddhartha Higher Secondary School in Shripur. They had arrived in Nepal after attending a Muslim ceremony in New Delhi and were staying in Jame Mosque in Birgunj.