Nepal reports 10,319 cases as rapid antigen tests added to daily infection tallies

 Nepal:  Nepal on Monday reported 8,054 new PCR confirmed coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours taking the nationwide infection tally to 918,448.

Similarly, 2,265 people tested positive in a total of 4,547 antigen tests, according to the Health Ministry.

As of Monday, 5,138,316 PCR and 926,629 antigen tests have been carried out across the country.

A total of 16,654 PCR tests were performed in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

Four people died from Covid-19-related infections in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. The countrywide death toll has reached 11,659 since the pandemic began. The number of active cases stands at 82,550 and the rate of infection positivity is 48.36 percent.

According to the World Health Organization, if the positivity rate, or the number of tests that return positive for every 100 tests, is more than 5 percent, the pandemic is supposed to be beyond control. According to the ministry, 824,239 infected people have recovered from the disease so far; 2,540 of them in the last 24 hours.

Nepal, on January 7, had reported 24 new Omicron cases. Earlier in December, three Omicron cases were confirmed.

The Health Ministry said tests conducted on 250 samples from among the 1,146 infected in the Nepali month of Poush had shown S-gene dropouts. Gene-sequencing performed on 24 samples returned Omicron results in all of them. Kathmandu Valley recorded 4,833 new infections in the past 24 hours. Of these, 3,634 cases were confirmed in Kathmandu, 587 in Lalitpur and 455 in Bhaktapur.

In the past 24 hours, 627 new infections were recorded in Province 1, 242 in Madhes Pradesh, 5,879 in Bagmati, 746 in Gandaki, 383 in Lumbini, 14 in Karnali and 144 in Sudurpaschim.

On Monday, 238 individuals infected with the virus were being treated in intensive care units across the country. Another 43—six in Province 1, 34 in Bagmati and one each in Gandaki, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim—were on ventilator support.

Nepal on Sunday reported 5,598 new PCR confirmed coronavirus cases and four deaths. Similarly, 8,212 new PCR confirmed coronavirus cases and 16 deaths were recorded on Saturday and 8,815 new PCR confirmed coronavirus cases and three deaths were reported on Friday.