NRNA Korea to provide 2,000 coronavirus test kits to Nepal

– Jeevan Khatri

The Non-Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA), South Korea is to immediately provide 2,000 kits for testing for coronavirus to the Government of Nepal.

NRNA Korea has said an agreement has already been reached with Dogen, the company that supplies the kits, for the supply of 2,000 units of the kits as per the plan. The NRNA Korea branch has also initiated a fund collection campaign here for collecting support from the Nepalis living in Korea.

It is said one kit costs 20,000 Korean Won which is equivalent to Rs 2,000. The 2,000 kits would cost Rs 4 million.

NRNA Korea president Yagya Raj Subedi has appealed to every Nepali in Korea to contribute amount equivalent to the cost of one kit.

"I request every Nepali living in Korea to extend support for alleviating the adverse situation our motherland Nepal is reeling under at present due to the coronavirus menace," Subedi said in his appeal.

The saliva swab of the person suspected of coronavirus infection is placed in the kit and scanned through the scanning machine. Whether that person has the virus or not can be known within three hours.

Subedi said the fund would be collected throughout Thursday and the kits would be send to China by cargo on Friday. The cargo would then be picked up by the Government of Nepal’s related body in China. The consignment would be send to Nepal from China on Friday itself.

Nearly 60,000 Nepalis live in different places of South Korea. So far the Nepalis in Korea are safe from coronavirus.