India records 605 new Covid cases, 4 deaths

India witnessed a surge in Covid-19 cases as the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported 605 new infections and four deaths in the past 24 hours. The fatalities were reported from Kerala and Karnataka, with two each, according to ministry data. Notably, six deaths were reported on the previous day from Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Assam.

In a notable development, the total number of active cases decreased to 3,643 from the previous day's 3,919. The cumulative tally of Covid-19 cases in India, since the initial outbreak in January 2020, stands at 4,50,19,819, while the overall death toll has risen to 5,33,406.

A concerning trend has emerged with the detection of the JN.1 subvariant of the Omicron strain, a descendant of BA.2.86 or Pirola. Kerala became the first state to report a case of the JN.1 subvariant, and it has swiftly become the dominant variant in Maharashtra. Genetic studies on samples from January reveal that JN.1 accounts for nearly all cases in the state, with over 200 reported cases.

As of January 6, a total of 682 JN.1 cases have been reported across 12 states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha, and Haryana, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). In December 2023, 239 Covid cases, and 24 in November 2023, were identified with the presence of the JN.1 variant, as per INSACOG's data.

Despite these challenges, the overall recovery from Covid-19 in India has surpassed 4.4 crore individuals, reflecting a national recovery rate of 98.81 percent. The country has administered a total of 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines, as per available data, emphasizing ongoing efforts in the battle against the pandemic.

(With input from IANS)