Nepal reports highest single-day spike of 2,444 Covid cases since August 

Nepal on Tuesday reported 2,444 new cases of coronavirus infection, the biggest single-day jump since August last year. In the last 15 days, the country has recorded over 8,000 cases. 

So far, the country has reported 27 cases of Omicron. While the death toll stands at 11,607, according to the data by the country's health ministry. 

Nepal's COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.5 per cent, while the fatality rate stands at 1.4 per cent. 

Caseloads dropped significantly since September— as the national tally remained under 1,000 cases a day for many months.

Nepal experienced a devastating second wave of pandemic in May last year that plunged the country into a public health disaster. The situation had become so dire that many private hospitals in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu time were turning away patients for lack of beds, supplies, and equipment.

Anticipating a new wave of infections, Nepal has banned large public gatherings and closed schools across the Himalayan nation for nearly three weeks after a spike in coronavirus cases. 

The COVID-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) has also decided to make vaccination cards compulsory to enter public places such as government offices, hotels, cinema halls, stadiums and domestic flights, effective from January 17.

The variant, which was first discovered in South Africa in November, has since spread fast across the world. Many countries, including Nepal, have imposed travel restrictions after the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated it a variant of concern.

The chief district officers of three districts in the Kathmandu Valley, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss enforcing smart lockdown. The officials have banned the gathering of more than 25 people. 

The Ministry of Health and Population has intensified its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the three districts of the Valley amid the recent rise in coronavirus cases.

Nepal has provided two-shot vaccines to only 37 per cent of its population of 30 million since the inoculation drive began in January last year.