Swab samples of all lawmakers of National Assembly (upper house) as well as House of Representatives (lower house) are being collected for coronavirus PCR tests today, a day before the budget session of the federal parliament is set to begin.

Their samples were collected from the Parliament House in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu.

The lawmakers are being tested before the budget session because they have entered Kathmandu from various parts of the country.

On Sunday, President Bidya Devi Bhandari had summoned the budget session of the federal parliament from Friday at the Cabinet’s recommendation.

Meanwhile, Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Teku, Kathmandu as well as several hospitals across the country are running out of rapid diagnostic test kits and some even lack reagents for PCR tests.

Of the total 75,000 RDT kits that the government had recently procured, more than 52,000 have already been used.

The Department of Health Services had signed a contract with private firms to procure 100,000 RDT kits through a fast track process, but the kits have to arrive.

Similarly, Ministry of Health had assigned Nepal Army to procure medical equipment, including 28,000 PCR test kits, through a fast track process about a month ago.

But the army has failed to deliver the kits as of yet.