Kathmandu Valley sees record daily jump of 1,684 coronavirus infections in past one day

Published On: October 7, 2020 04:50 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Oct 7: The Kathmandu Valley, which has emerged as a hotspot for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection in recent months, saw 1,684 additional cases of coronavirus in the past one day.

This is the highest single-day spike of coronavirus cases in the Valley as of Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.

With 1,684 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, the Valley’s COVID-19 case tally has reached 33,549.

On its daily Facebook update, the ministry stated that seven people succumbed to COVID-19 in the past one day in the Valley alone, taking the Valley’s COVID-19 death toll to 176.

The ministry said that 1,296 new cases in Kathmandu, 95 in Bhaktapur, and 293 in Lalitpur were recorded in the past 24 hours.

Keeping in view of the rising cases of COVID-19 in the Valley, the government has urged people to exercise extra precautions.

Addressing a press conference organized on Wednesday to publicize decisions taken by the cabinet, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradip Kumar Gyawali, who is also the government spokesperson, urged people living in the Kathmandu Valley to exercise extra precautionary measures as the Valley is already at a high risk of COVID-19 transmission.

While most of the districts have been able to gradually curb the spread of COVID-19, the situation has gone out of control in the Valley.

The government has urged people to adopt proper health safety protocols while going outside, traveling in public vehicles, and visiting public offices to avail government services. Maintaining social distance, using face masks and frequent hand washing are the best possible ways of staying away from the virus.

Similarly, as the two major festivals--Dashain and Tihar--are only a few weeks away, the transmission of COVID-19 in large numbers is feared, if the health safety guidelines are neglected.

Earlier, the Health Ministry had urged people to stay where they are and celebrate Dashain and Tihar.