BIRENDRANAGAR, June 29 -- Following a technical problem in a PCR machine, the testing of samples for Covid-19 infection has stopped in Surkhet - the headquarters of Karnali. The testing has come to a halt since Friday.

As the machine has stopped working, the collected swab samples have been kept in a freezer, according to the Public Health Directorate.

"Even a technical team from Nepalgunj could not fix the problem," said Om Acharya, coordinator at the Karnali Province Health Directorate, adding that the laboratory is coordinating with a technical team in Kathmandu to fix the problem.

Earlier, the lab was testing 300 samples every day. "As there is a problem in the PCR machine, swab samples have already started to pile up," Acharya sai...