KATHMANDU, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government on Friday reported record high single day infection of over 2,700 COVID-19 cases as the total number of cases surpassed 80,000 mark.
"A total of record 2,722 cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours," Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson at Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population, said at a press meet on Friday. "With the addition of new cases, total COVID-19 cases in Nepal reached 82,450."
Last record high daily infections were reported on September 18 when Nepal's health ministry confirmed 2,020 cases in a single day.
Due to the rapid rise in cases, total cases doubled in just one month. COVID-19 cases in the Himalayan country crossed 40,000 on September 1, according to the health ministry.
On Friday, the number of active cases in Nepal reached 21,234, according to the ministry.
In the initial months of the pandemic, most of the cases were limited to returnee Nepali migrant workers. In the last two months, most of the cases are locally transmitted, according to the ministry.
Nepali officials said as cases are spreading among different clusters of the community, the elderly population and those suffering with existing health conditions have been increasingly infected, leading to increased deaths in recent weeks.
On Thursday, deaths from the COVID-19 in Nepal surpassed 500 mark. With the addition of new 11 deaths on Friday, the total deaths from the pandemic in Nepal reached 520, according to the health ministry. Enditem
