India-returned man dies in Nepal, toll rises to two

A 25-year-old man, who was staying in a quarantine facility after returning from India on May 12, died on Sunday due to Covid-19, becoming the second casualty of the novel coronavirus in the country, officials said.

The man, who had a fever and was suffering from diarrhoea since Saturday night, died on Sunday morning in quarantine at Narainapur in Banke, health ministry’s spokesperson Bikas Devkota told reporters.

“His swab specimen was collected for testing, which has come out positive,” Devkota said.

The man from Narainapur Municipality of Banke district in Western Nepal was in the quarantine facility after returning from India to Nepal on May 12, said Dr Samir Adhikari, the health ministry’s deputy spokesperson.

Nepal registered its first Covid-19 death on Saturday after a 29-year-old woman died following breathing difficulty.

The woman from Bahrabise Municipality of Sindhupalchowk district who died on Thursday was confirmed as coronavirus positive during PCR test at the National Public Health Laboratory here, the ministry said in a statement.

As of Sunday, 292 people tested positive for coronavirus in the country.

So far, 28,160 tests have been conducted and there are 254 active cases while 36 have recovered in the country. Two persons have died.

Thailand on Sunday opened malls and department stores for the first time since March in its second phase of relaxing measures as the number of new coronavirus cases slowed. The country’s top mall operator, Central Pattana Pcl said it was reopening 33 of its shopping centers nationwide.

Central Pattana said it would control density by only allowing one person per 5 square metres (54 square feet) and use robots to measure body temperatures and by using touchless elevators.

Scores of shoppers were seen queuing before entering the Iconsiam mall in central Bangkok. Customers are asked to scan a QR code and register on a government website before entering. On Sunday, Thailand reported three cases.

It has reported a total 3,028 cases, with 2,856 patients having recovered and 56 deaths.