By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Mar. 31: The Ministry of Health and Population on Wednesday confirmed 162 new cases of COVID-19, taking the nation's novel coronavirus tally to 277,309.

"In 3,919 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests done in the last 24 hours, 162 persons were found infected with SARS-CoV-2," informed Dr. Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population in the regular press briefing.

Of the new infections, 67 were recorded in the Kathmandu Valley including four in Bhaktapur, 13 in Lalitpur and 50 in Kathmandu.

Currently, there are 1,493 active cases of COVID-19 across the nation of which, 198 patients are receiving treatment in institutional isolation and 1,302 are placed in home isolation. Likewise, 59 people, mostly those who had returned from abroad, are placed in quarantine. 

Meanwhile, 59 COVID-19 patients receiving treatment in institutional isolation or staying in home isolation recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours. Nepal has now recorded cases of recovery and the recovery rate is at 98.4 per cent.

Of the active patients, 38 patients are admitted to the ICU and five are receiving treatment with ventilator facility.

No COVID-19 related fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, currently, the nation's COVID-19 death toll is at 3,030.