The highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 is driving an unprecedented surge of infections globally. And in the case of Nepal, the situation is no different. As per Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, Chief of Clinical Research Unit at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku, “With the rising cases, I can tell that Omicron is now everywhere, in every household.”

Pun further informed, “Omicron causes less severe disease than Delta. However, it remains a dangerous virus, particularly for those who are unvaccinated and don’t follow the safety protocols. ”

On January 17, Nepal reported 5747 new cases in polymerase chain reaction and 987 new cases in antibody tests making it a total of 6734 new cases.

Meanwhile, three people died in the last 24 hours. The number of active cases stands at 30877.