Katari Municipality in Udayapur district on Wednesday decided to close its bazaar area for an indefinite period due to the increased risk of the spread of coronavirus.

A 43-year-old woman at Lekhgaun in Ward No. 2 of Tapli Rural Municipality, which is adjacent to Katari Municipality, tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. According to the municipality, the patient had visited Katari Medical Health Care Pvt. Ltd with complaints of breathing problems on Friday.

Dr. Ganesh Lal Das, the operator of the health care centre, said, “She was at the health care centre for eight hours. We then referred her to the Biratnagar-based Koshi Provincial Hospital for further treatment.”

Currently, the patient is receiving treatment at the Covid-19 Hospital in Biratnagar.

“We have closed all services except for the emergency unit at the hospital. All employees, including myself, are currently self-quarantining at home,” Das told the Post over the phone.

According to the municipal office, they decided to close Katari bazaar after health workers and other employees at the health care centre were exposed to the virus.

“We have closed the bazaar area to prevent the virus from spreading. We will contact-trace all individuals who had visited the health centre in the past few days. We have closed all services in the bazaar, except for emergency services,” said Gyanendra Shrestha, mayor of the municipality. “The bazaar will remain closed until the PCR results of all individuals arrive.”

The municipality has advised the locals to use face masks compulsorily when in public. A team of officials from the municipality is also raising awareness on the issue and inspecting public spaces, said Shrestha.

Issuing a public notice on Wednesday, the municipality said that all business activities, public and private vehicles, offices and hotels, among other areas, have been closed to prevent the virus from spreading further.

“We have requested the locals to cooperate with us and help us in our campaign to control the spread of coronavirus,” said Bhim Kumari Raut, deputy mayor at the municipality.

According to Mohan Dunuwar, a local of Katari, people of Tapli Rural Municipality, where the infected woman is from, come to Katari bazaar every day to purchase daily essentials.

“It was a necessary move to close the bazaar to curb the chances of more infections in the area,” Dunuwar said.

Puskar Khadka, chairman of the Udayapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “We have supported the municipality’s move and closed all shops and enterprises to stop the further spread of the virus.”

Until Wednesday, 92 people had tested positive for coronavirus in Udayapur district. Among them, seven are from Katari.