Nepal on Tuesday recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in a single day.

The Health Ministry confirmed 26 new cases on Tuesday night, which took the single-day number of Covid-19 cases to 83.

With the new cases, the country’s Covid-19 tally has now reached 217.

“Eighteen individuals in Parsa, two each in Mahottari, Dhanusa and Bhaktapur and one each in Kathmandu and Sarlahi tested positive for the virus,” said the ministry in a statement.

With more and more infections being reported from across the country every day, government officials and public health experts warn that unless Nepalis are allowed to enter the country legally, the number of cases could rise.

According to public health experts, the significant rise in cases can definitely be attributed to an increase in testing and the government’s faith in the results of the rapid diagnostic test kits.

Out of 18 in Parsa, six are women between 22 and 60 years of age. Twelve men are between the age of 16 and 61 years.

The two men tested positive in Mahottari are aged 16 and 35. Similarly, a 20-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man have tested positive in Dhanusha. Those tested positive in Bhaktapur are a 25-year-old woman and 27-year-old man.

Similarly, a 33-year-old woman in Kathmandu and a 45-year-old man in Sarlahi have also tested positive for the virus.

“The health condition of all the infected individuals is normal and they are under the supervision of medical personnel,” said the ministry.

Earlier in the day, the ministry had confirmed 57 new cases in four districts, two each in Province 2 and Province 5.

“Tests conducted on the samples of eight persons from Kapilvastu, nine from Rupandehi, 39 from Parsa and one from Bara at the National Public Health Laboratory in Kathmandu came out positive for Covid-19,” said the ministry.

With the latest update, Parsa now has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country at 82.

Province 2 now has the highest Covid-19 cases (95) in the country.

So far, 35 cases have been reported in Province 1, 10 in Bagmati, two in Gandaki, 70 in Province 5 and five in Sudurpaschim. Karnali is the only province which has not reported any case yet.

Likewise, 31 people have recovered and three have been readmitted after they tested positive for the virus in retests.