India records 355 new Covid-19 cases; total active cases at 2,331

NEW DELHI: India recorded a single-say increase of 355 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of active cases in the country to 2,331, as announced by the Union health ministry on Friday.

Over a 24-hour period, two deaths were reported, one from Karnataka and one from Kerala, as per the government data updated at 8 am.

The rise in cases started after December 5, following the emergence of a new variant and colder weather conditions.

The highest single-day increase of 841 cases was reported on December 31, 2023, which accounted for only 0.2% of the peak cases reported in May 2021, the official sources informed.

Currently, 92% of active cases are under home isolation.

"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 hospitalisation and mortality," the official source stated.

India has experienced three waves of Covid-19, with the delta wave in April-June 2021 being the most severe.

The peak of the delta wave saw 4,14,188 new cases and 3,915 deaths reported on May 7, 2021.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, India has recorded over 4.5 crore infections and more than 5.3 lakh deaths.

According to the ministry's website, nearly 4.4 crore people have recovered from the infection, resulting in a countrywide recovery rate of 98.81 percent. Further, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccinations have already been administered in the country.
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