Nepal urgently needs at least 1.6 million AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine doses to administer second shots as the Himalayan country is recording a surge in new coronavirus cases.

“People who have already got the first dose will be in difficulty if they don't receive their second dose within the stipulated time,” said Samir Adhikari, a senior official of the Ministry of Health and Population in the capital Kathmandu.

On Monday, Prime Minister K.P.Sharma Oli urged foreign donors to supply vaccines and critical care medicines to prevent a collapse of the small country's creaky health infrastructure.

A day earlier, Nepal's Covid-19 cases increased by 7,388 and deaths by 37, the highest spike in 24 hours since the pandemic started. Nepal has recorded a total of 343,418 cases and 3,362 deaths, according to official data.