India reports 133 new COVID-19 cases, active tally at 1,389

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India saw a single-day rise of 133 new COVID-19 cases, while the number of active cases stood at 1,389, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI.

Two deaths -- one each from Gujarat and Maharashtra -- have been reported in 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am, reported PTI.

The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, but cases had begun to increase after the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions, reported PTI.

After December 5, a maximum of a single-day rise of 841 new COVID-19 cases was reported on December 31, 2023, which is 0.2 per cent of the peak cases reported in May 2021, official sources said, reported PTI.

A majority (around 92 per cent) of the total active cases are under home isolation, they said.

"The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in the new cases nor a surge in the hospitalisation and mortality," the official source stated, reported PTI.

India has witnessed three waves of COVID-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily new cases and deaths being reported during the delta wave in April-June 2021.

At its peak, 4,14,188 new COVID-19 cases and 3,915 deaths were reported on May 7, 2021.

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, there have been more than 4.5 crore people getting infected and over 5.3 lakh deaths in about four years since then across the country.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease stands at over 4.4 crore with a national recovery rate of 98.81 per cent, according to the ministry's website.

According to the website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered in the country.

Meanwhile, JN.1, the latest Covid-19 variant from the lineage of Omicron making a fresh surge around the globe, represents 'very serious evolution' of Covid virus, according to global experts.

JN.1, classified as a variant of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its rapid spread.

It was first detected in Luxembourg in August. The WHO expects JN.1 to increase the burden of respiratory infections in many countries.

The WHO has "just called JN.1 a VOI (variant of interest), and that just doesn't cut it, with the growth advantage this variant has demonstrated. It is just extraordinary", Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California,US, was quoted as saying to Fortune.

JN.1 is a descendent lineage of BA.2.86, with the earliest sample collected on August 25, 2023. In comparison with BA.2.86, JN.1 has the additional L455S mutation in the spike protein, making it more transmissible.

(With inputs from PTI)