New Delhi: India witnessed an increase of 628 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, contributing to a rise in the active caseload, which reached 4,054, as per the data provided by the Union Health Ministry.
The total number of fatalities stood at 5,33,334 (5.33 lakh), with one new death reported from Kerala in the preceding 24 hours, according to the information updated at 8 am.
The country’s Covid case tally is currently at 4,50,09,248 (4.50 crore). The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has risen to 4,44,71,860 (4.44 crore) while the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website.
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in India and the detection of a subvariant JN.1, India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) chief Dr NK Arora said that no additional dose of vaccine is needed against the subvariant at present.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently designated JN.1 as a variant of interest, differentiating it from its parent lineage BA.2.86. Despite its swift dissemination, the global health organization has underscored that the overall risk associated with JN.1 is currently considered low based on available evidence.
This decision by the WHO to classify JN.1 as a distinct variant of interest is a departure from its earlier classification as part of the BA.2.86 sublineages.