BHAKTAPUR, Aug 28: A woman has died of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection in Bhaktapur on Friday.
The 62-year-old woman, who was taken to the Citizen Community Hospital in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality-3, Gatthaghar for treatment, breathed her last, confirmed Chief District Officer of Bhaktapur district Humkala Pandey.
The woman with high blood pressure was also said to have contracted the virus, she said. Bir Dal Battalion of Nepal Army in Suryabinayak is preparing to safely bury the dead body.
CDO Pandey said preparations are underway to conduct contact tracing of the deceased family members and collection of their swabs to conduct PCR testings on Friday.
Director of Citizen Hospital Jeetendra Shrestha said the patient was suffering from asthma and high blood pressure. She was brought dead at the hospital.
The hospital’s emergency and OPD services have been suspended for Friday and Saturday following the death of the women due to coronavirus infection. “Doctors and nurses who came to the contact of the deceased woman would be quarantined and the hospital would be disinfected. The hospital would resume its operation from Sunday,” said Dr Shrestha.
Earlier, two COVID-19 related deaths were reported in Bhaktapur.
Locals have demanded municipalities conduct at least one PCR test in each household amid fears of community level transmission of the virus infection. Officials at Madhyapur and Suryabinayak municipalities said they have stepped up preparations to increase the number of PCR tests and adopt other safety measures to suppress further spread of the virus.