The GP Koirala National Respiratory Treatment Centre at Shuklagandaki municiplaity-5, Belchautari in Tanahun has set up an isolation ward for the treatment of coronavirus suspects.

The construction of 20-bed isolation ward at the hospital has almost come to a final stage, informed Centre’s Executive Director Dr Ram Kumar Shrestha.

"The ward is being constructed at a room within the hospital building", he shared, adding, "All necessary works would be completed within a couple of days".

Director Dr Shrestha further said arrangement would be made in the ward to treat corona suspect patients and collect and send throat swab and blood samples of the suspects to the centre for test".

In keeping with the spread of coronavirus pandemic across the globe of late, the setup of isolation ward is gaining ground at local level as part of preparedness.

The Gandaki state government has established isolation wards in five hospitals including GP Koirala treatment centre. Other four hospitals in Pokhara has 70-bed isolation wards.

Charak Hospital has set up an isolation ward with 30 beds, Manipal Teaching Hospital and Gandaki Medical College with 15 beds each, and Pokhara Institute for Health Science 10.

Health help desk set up

A health help desk was set up at Anbukhaireni rural municiplaity-4, Puljeep – the main check point of Gandaki State – on Sunday for COVID-19 screening.

The help desk would sensitize public against coronavirus pandemic and also demonstrate proper method of hand washing with soap and water, shared rural municipality chair Gir Bahadur Thapa. Two health workers have been assigned at the help desk.

"Daily hundreds of people enter to the Gandaki State via Prithvi Highway. The health desk would be mobilized to keep people sensitized and informed of the safety measures to ward off coronavirus threats", he added.