Kathmandu, Oct. 21: The COVID-19 infection has spread at community level in Solukhumbu district. On Tuesday alone, 12 people including people's representatives and health workers were confirmed to have contracted the flu-like infection.

The virus has now spread at the community level as local people have been infected in a huge number, said Mayor of Solududhkunda Municipality Namgeljanbu Sherpa, adding that the risk of COVID-19 was likely to increase alarmingly during the festivals.

Five infection cases were reported in the Municipality on Friday. The infected persons’ throat and nasal swabs were tested at a laboratory in Biratnagar, Morang.

Of the infected, three are associated with the Municipality. Among the infected ones, one is undergoing treatment in District Hospital’s isolation ward while others were being treated at their home-isolation, said Chamar Magar, Health Coordinator at the Municipality.

Likewise, 18 workers at the Tallo Solu khola Hydropower Project tested positive for the infection among PCR tests conducted among 271 workers. “The district may run out of isolation wards when the scope of tests is expanded,” worried Durga Laxmi Rai, a school teacher.

The district hospital has a 10-bed isolation ward where four infected people are receiving treatment at present. All eight local levels in the district have a total of 29 isolation wards.