March 29: A 17-year-old girl from Baglung Municipality has become the fifth person in Nepal to test positive for COVID-19, the Ministry of Health and Population confirmed on Saturday.

According to the state-run news agency RSS, the patient has been brought to Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital for treatment. The girl was in self-quarantine and was admitted to the hospital on Saturday after test carried out in Kathmandu confirmed she was infected with the deadly virus that has spread to almost every country and killed over 30,000 people.

"She is in normal condition and has been put in isolation under direct observation of health workers," RSS quoted acting Medical Superintendent Dr Sailendra Pokharel as saying.

Dr Pokharel reportedly said they will be checking her status daily and have also asked the family members to stay in self-quarantine. 

She had gone to visit her mother, who is currently in Belgium, and returned back by the QR 652 flight of Qatar Airways on March 17. Another 19-year-old girl from Kathmandu, travelling in the same flight earlier tested positive to COVID-19.   

A team of health workers from Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital had collected swab sample from her on March 25 and sent it to Kathmandu for the test after the authorities tracked her on suspicion of being infected with the virus as she shared the flight with an infected person.