KATHMANDU, May 17 (NNN-NEPALNEWA) – The Nepali government, on Saturday, confirmed the first death from COVID-19.
Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population said, a 29-year-old woman from Sindhupalchwok, in the country’s central region, died, while being brought to a hospital, in the outskirt of the capital, Kathmandu.
“A detailed investigation and a series of tests confirmed that this is the first death due to COVID-19 in the country,” read the statement.
The woman, who gave birth on May 6, at the Kathmandu-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, was discharged from hospital on May 7, after a normal delivery.
After returning home at the Barhabise Municipality in Sidhupalchwok, she developed a fever and respiratory problem and was undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
“After her situation (got) complicated, she was brought to Dhulikhel hospital on May 14, but she died on the way,” Sameer Kumar Adhikari, joint spokesperson at the ministry said, on Saturday evening.
“After the death, she was tested for COVID-19 at the Dhulikhel hospital and the National Public Health Laboratory in Kathmandu, and the results showed she was suffering from COVID-19.”
According to the District Administration Office of Sindhupalchwok, a meeting of the District COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre decided to seal her village and the village where her parents live.
The meeting also decided to conduct tracing of the people who were in contact with the woman and put them in quarantine, the office said.
Sushila Pakhrin, deputy mayor of Barshabise Municipality said, the woman’s family, including her child, were put into quarantine at the Dhulikhel hospital. They were in normal condition as of Saturday.
Meanwhile, Adhikari confirmed that, two Nepal Army personnel also contracted the COVID-19 virus.
Nepal has so far 281 confirmed cases, according to the ministry.
