At least 72 security personnel at the Nepal Police Headquarters in Kathmandu have been infected with the novel coronavirus, a media report said on Friday.

With this, the total number of police personnel detected with the viral infection nationwide has reached 250, The Himalayan Times report said.

Central Police Spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kuber Kadayat, said the lab report of swab specimens collected from personnel through contact tracing came out positive on Thursday taking the count of the infected to 72.

The spokesperson added that a total of 101 personnel have already been discharged from different hospitals following their recovery as of Friday.

Contact tracing of the infected persons is being carried out at the headquarters, Kadayat said.

As of Friday, the total number of coronavirus cases in Nepal stood at 19,547 with 52 deaths. (IANS)