New Delhi
India continues to witness a slight uptick in Covid cases, with around 3395 active infections. Of the685 being reported since Friday, nearly one out of three cases being registered from Kerala.
There were four deaths reported in the last 24 hours, with one each from Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, as per data from the Union Health Ministry. Most of the deaths are related to co-morbidities, as per initial findings.
Kerala reported the highest number of active cases, 1336 infections, of which 189 was in the last 24 hours.
Among other states. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat reported spikes in infections on a cumulative as well as a 24-hour basis.
Maharashtra had 467 active infections with 43 being reported in the last 24 hours; Karnataka had 234 infections and 86 of these were in the last few hours; Delhi had 375 active cases on a cumulative basis and 81 of these were in a 24-hour basis; while in Gujarat there are 265 active Covid infections of which 42 were reported in the last few hours.
Other states that have reported an increase in infections include West Bengal – 205 active and 89 in the last 24 hours; Tamil Nadu – 185 active cases and 37 in the last 24 hours and in Uttar Pradesh there are 117 active cases of which 75 were reported in the last 24 hours.
Health Ministry officials have said there are no immediate concerns despite the current spike in infections. The present increase in Covid infections are mostly related to theJN1 variant.
In some cases, the recent surge, is attributed to the emergence of two new sub-variants — NB.1.8.1 and LF.7. These variants exhibit genetic differences from earlier strains and are currently being tracked by health authorities. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified them as “Variants Under Monitoring” rather than “Variants of Concern”. State governments have issued advisories to manage the evolving situation.