A multifold spurt in fresh Covid-19 cases was noted in India over the past 24 hours, with Kerala contributing the major chunk of those
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India saw a single-day rise of 752 coronavirus infections, the highest since May 21, 2023, while the active cases have increased to 3,420, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday, reported news agency ANI.
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A multifold spurt in fresh Covid-19 cases was noted in India over the past 24 hours, with Kerala contributing the major chunk of those.
The death toll was recorded at 5,33,332 with four new deaths -- two from Kerala, one each in Rajasthan and Karnataka -- reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The country's Covid-19 case tally stood at 4.50 crore (4,50,07,964).
The number of people recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,71,212, and the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry's website. The fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent.
The ministry's website stated that 220.67 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far.
Meanwhile, amid rising concerns over the emergence of the new variant of the coronavirus, former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan told news agency ANI that there is no need to panic currently as it is a variant of interest and not of concern. However, she urged people to be cautious by taking proper precautionary measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.
The number of new COVID cases increased by 52 per cent during the past four-odd weeks, the WHO said, with over 850 000 new cases reported during the period.
The number of new deaths decreased by 8 per cent as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 3,000 new fatalities reported, World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest press release.
As of December 17, over 772 million confirmed cases and nearly seven million deaths have been reported globally since the onset of COVID-19, the WHO noted.
Further, the WHO said over 118,000 new COVID-19 hospitalisations and over 1600 new intensive care unit (ICU) admissions have been recorded, with an overall increase of 23 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively, globally.
Due to its rapidly increasing spread, WHO is classifying the variant JN.1 as a separate variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86. It was previously classified as VOI as part of BA.2.86 sublineages.
Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low. Despite this, with the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, JN.1 could increase the burden of respiratory infections in many countries.
The WHO had earlier said it was continuously monitoring the evidence and would update the JN.1 risk evaluation as needed.
Current vaccines continue to protect against severe disease and death from JN.1 and other circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, it noted.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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