Kathmandu, Jan 24 (IANS): The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is now driving daily cases to surge in Nepal, accounting for 88 per cent of the samples tested recently, the country's Ministry of Health and Population has said.
"During the latest gene sequencing of 32 samples of Covid-19 patients, the Omicron variant was present in 28 samples while Delta was found in four samples," Sameer Kumar Adhikari, a Ministry Spokesman, said at a press briefing on Sunday.
"It means the presence of Omicron has been found in 88 per cent of samples, suggesting that it is now the driving force behind recent surge in coronavirus cases, like in many other countries in the world," he added.
Nepal has been witnessing another wave of infections since the start of the new year, Xinhua news agency reported.