Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
India on Monday recorded a slight dip in the single-day rise in Covid-19 cases with 636 fresh infections compared to 841 the previous day, the Union Health Ministry said.
The country reported three more deaths due to the virus.
The active caseload rose to 4,394 after 85 more cases were reported in the past 24 hours. The three fatalities — two in Kerala and one in Tamil Nadu — have pushed the death toll to 5,33,364, the health ministry data at 8 am stated.
According to the ministry, as many as 548 people recuperated from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of recoveries to 4.44 crore (4,44,76,150). The national recovery rate was pegged at 98.81 per cent while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.
On Sunday, India reported 841 new Covid-19 cases, marking the highest daily increase in the past 227 days or over seven months, the ministry said. The active caseload spiked to 4,309 from 3,997 reported on Saturday (December 30, 2023).
Since the Covid-19 outbreak in January 2020, the country has reported 4.50 crore (4,50,13,908) cases so far.
The uptick in cases came after a period of relatively low infection rates, with daily cases having fallen to double digits until December 5. The emergence of the coronavirus JN.1 sub-variant and colder weather conditions have contributed to the recent spike in cases.
Experts have advised people with comorbidities and the elderly to avoid crowded places and wear face masks while asserting there was no need to put in place public health measures right now.
So far, 178 cases of JN.1 sub-variant have been reported from nine states as of December 29, 2023, with Goa reporting the highest count at 47 followed by 41 in Kerala.
The other states where JN.1 cases have been detected are — 36 in Gujarat, 34 in Karnataka, nine in Maharashtra, four each in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, two from Telangana and one from Delhi.
