COVID-19 is on an upward trend in Nepal following a rise in India, said the Ministry of Health and Population. The infection rate has now hit six percent while it had reached the lowest 0.5 percent, said the Ministry's Joint Secretary Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari.
"Nepal did not find the infection rate rising at the same rate as India. But the infection is rampant in the country," he warned.
On June 15, out of 3,905 tests, 25 contracted the virus. The figure rose double on July 1 when out of 2,814 tests, 50 infection cases were reported.
Similarly, on June 30, 55 infection cases were reported while 62 on June 29, 44 on June 28, 41 on June 27, 29 on June 26 and 27 on June 25.
Director of the Epidemiology and Infectious Disease Control Division, Dr Chuman Lal Das said Nepal's increasing infection followed increasing cases in India. People entering Nepal from India are reported to have contracted the infection in most cases, he said. "Infection rate has increased. We should strictly follow the health protocol."
Gene sequencing is underway at the National Public Health Laboratory to verify whether or not a present variant is a new form of omicron (BA4 or BA5U), he said. "The report will come in a day or two," he said.
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