Dharan Sub-metropolitan City has imposed a week-long lockdown to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
A meeting of the sub-metropolitan committee on Wednesday has decided to impose a week-long lockdown effective from Wednesday midnight concluding that infection may have spread in community.
"We have known that infection may have spread in the community in recent times. We have decided for a week of lockdown to conduct tests and find out," Deputy Mayor of Dharan Manju Bhandari Subedi told Setopati. "The district security committee and public health experts have also advised that."
All non-essential services will be shut down in Dharan from Wednesday midnight.
She said over 500 PCR tests will be conducted in Dharan to find out if infection has spread in the community. "We will take a decision about whether to extend or end the lockdown after conducting the tests."
Students and people without any travel history are being infected in Dharan in recent times leading to fears that infection may have spread in the community.