The local levels of Doti district have not been able to construct isolation and quarantine facilities to keep people who have returned to their hometown from India.

Locals are furious that the seven local levels, including the two municipalities of the district, have not constructed isolation and quarantine facilities at a time when the number of coronavirus cases has been rising at an alarming rate.

According to the District Health Office, the district has around 300 active coronavirus cases as of Wednesday.

Of them, 283 are in home isolation and 12 are undergoing treatment at the district hospital. A total of five have succumbed to COVID-19.

Local health workers said that death toll and spread of the virus had surged since returnees from India were entering their villages directly without staying in quarantine, they did not visit hospital even after falling ill and suffering from fever, and they did not inform anyone about it.

Kiran Bhandari of Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality said that though Purbichauki Rural Municipality of the district had constructed an isolation facility, other seven local levels had not done anything yet.

He added that people’s representatives did not pay any attention to constructing isolation and quarantine facilities even though coronavirus cases were on the rise in the district.

Locals said that the number of Doti folks entering the district from different places of the country as well as India was increasing every day, however, the government has not maintained any data of the same.

Although the District Administration Office has requested those returning from India to stay in home quarantine, the returnees are moving around freely in the villages due to lack of strict monitoring from the government’s side.

A local resident Ram Bahadur Bista said that there was high risk of coronavirus spreading in the villages of the district as none of the local levels kept records of those entering the district.

People’s representatives of the district, who were active in managing those entering from India as well as other countries last year, have failed to do any work this year.