Over 100 people affected by symptoms akin to coronavirus in Nepal's Sindhupalchowk, authorities seek Centre's help

Over 100 people in Sindhupalchowk district are affected by the flu-like condition which has symptoms similar to coronavirus, local authorities told the Centre.

In a letter to the central government on Monday, Jugal Village Council has requested assistance to diagnose the cause of disease.

"People in Jugal Village Council's Ward no. 3, Gumba have been experiencing symptoms like that of Coronavirus. They are suffering from cough, high fever that is also a symptom of the coronavirus. We hereby request you to send over a team to identify and diagnose it," the letter signed on by Chief Administrative Officer, Lok Bahadur BK and sent to the Ministry of Health and Population states.

Coronavirus which first appeared in December in the Wuhan city of China has so far claimed the lives of 1100 people.

On January 19, Nepal became the first South Asian nation to confirm infection from the new strain of coronavirus, named as 'Covid-19' by WHO, which has been declared as a global health emergency with reports of it having spread to over two dozen nations around the globe.

The letter mentioned that over 100 people have reported having similar kind of symptoms.

"We are sure it is viral which has symptoms similar to Coronavirus, we don't have any resource to confirm it. However, over 100 have reported similar symptoms in a single day on Tuesday," Hom Narayan Shreshta, Chairman of the Jugal village council told ANI over the phone.