Dhangadhi, June 5
Health officials in Sudurpaschim have directed their subordinate bodies to not collect swab samples for the coronavirus PCR test for the next five days.
The Provincial Health Directorate has issued a notice directing the local staff to put the process on hold citing the province has only one machine to conduct the tests but nearly 1,100 samples wait to be tested.
The circular has been issued to officials of all nine districts of the province.
“If we keep the swab samples for a long time without testing,” the Provincial Health Director Dr Guna Raj Awasthi says, “Therefore, we have told them not to collect the samples for the next five days.”
In the past two-and-a-half months, the only lab in the province processed 3,871 swab samples. As of Friday, 1083 samples are waiting to be tested. Awasthi says the lab could complete the pending tests in the next four days.
As the number of people returning from India is increasing, the officials have recently expedited tests in the province.
