KATHMANDU, Sept 27 (NNN-NEPALNEWS) – Dr. Dibya Singh, Nepali Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli’s personal physician, has been infected with COVID-19, Nepali officials said.
Dr. Singh, who is also dean at the Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University (TU), which runs the TU Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, was confirmed to be infected with the virus on Friday.
“She was tested positive after coming into contact with hospital staff infected with the virus,” Dr. Shanta Kumar Das, coordinator of COVID-19 Management Committee at the TU Teaching Hospital said.
“Five days after coming into contact with the staff infected with the virus, in a meeting, she developed symptoms of COVID-19 and was tested positive.”
According to him, other participants in the meeting, who have shown no COVID-19 symptoms, are currently in home quarantine.
Dr. Das said, there is little risk for the prime minister to get infected as Dr. Singh has not visited the prime minister for more than two weeks.
Prime Minister Oli’s Press Advisor, Surya Thapa, said that, Dr. Singh has not visited the prime minister for long, as he does not need regular check up at the moment. “So, I find little risk to the prime minister for Dr. Singh being tested positive for COVID-19,” Thapa said, adding that, he was unaware if Prime Minister Oli would avoid meeting, after his private doctor got infected.
Several Nepali lawmakers at the federal parliament have also been tested positive for COVID-19, since the start of the pandemic, according to a senior doctor assigned at the Nepali parliament.
Dr. Puspa Raj Rijal, in-charge of the medical team assigned at the Nepali parliament said that all those lawmakers who were infected with the virus have recovered.
As of yesterday, Nepal confirmed 71,821 COVID-19 cases, while the pandemic caused the death of 467 people, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population.– NNN-NEPALNEWS
