Nepalis evacuated from virus-hit Wuhan test negative for 'Covid-19'

Nepali citizens who have been evacuated from China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 2000 people and infected more than 70,000 others, have tested negative for the virus, Nepal's Ministry of Health informed on Wednesday.

As many as 175 Nepali, who were air-lifted from the capital of central Chinese province of Hubei early this week, are quarantined under active surveillance at Kharipati in Bhaktapur district of the Himalayan country, the ministry added.

During a press briefing, the Ministry of Health and Population announced that none of the evacuees have shown any symptoms of Covid-19.

"The National Public Health Laboratory, Teku's report received on February 18 has stated that none of the 175 evacuees were tested on Real-Time RT-PCR for Novel Corona Virus and none of the tests has turned positive for the virus (Covid-19)," Mahendra Prasad Shrestha, one of the spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population told reporters here.

Covid-19, the official name of the coronavirus has been declared as a health emergency by the World Health Organisation with 2,000 casualties reported in mainland China. The virus was first reported in the East Asian country by the end of 2019.

Nepal, which became the first South Asian nation to confirm the infection last month, had airlifted its 175 citizens, including 134 males and 41 females.

According to WHO, the symptoms for Covid-19 include fever, cough, shortness or difficulty in breathing. In severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure leading to death.