By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Apr. 7: The Ministry of Health and Population on Wednesday confirmed  339 new cases of COVID-19, taking the nation's novel coronavirus tally to 278,819.

"In 4,100 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests and 1,040 antigen tests done in the last 24 hours, 349 persons were found infected with SARS-CoV-2," informed the Health Ministry in the regular press briefing.

Of the new cases, a total of 163 cases were confirmed in Kathmandu Valley including five in Bhaktapur, 26 in Lalitpur and 163 in Kathmandu.

Currently, there are 2,201 active cases of COVID-19 across the nation of which, 460 are receiving treatment in institutional isolation and 1,741 are in home isolation and 65 people mostly those who had returned from abroad, are placed in quarantine. 

Of the active patients, 65 are placed in ICU and 13 are receiving treatment with ventilator facility.

Meanwhile, 74 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 273,529 cases of recovery and the recovery rate is at 98.1 per cent.