India Reports 573 New Covid Cases and 2 Deaths in Last 24 Hours

India has reported 573 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases to 4,565, according to the Union Health Ministry's update on Tuesday. Two additional Covid-related fatalities were recorded, one each from Haryana and Karnataka. The latest data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) reveals 197 cases of the JN.1 coronavirus sub-variant in the country as of Monday.

In December, INSACOG reported 180 Covid cases with the presence of JN.1, while 17 cases were detected in November. The country witnessed a decline in daily Covid-19 cases until December 5, but numbers have risen again due to the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.

During the peak of the pandemic, daily cases reached lakhs, resulting in over 4.5 crore infections and more than 5.3 lakh deaths over the past four years. The national recovery rate is reported at 98.8%, with over 4.4 crore individuals having successfully recovered from the disease. India has administered 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines to date.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has categorized JN.1 as a "variant of interest" due to its rapid spread, though it poses a "low" global public health risk, as stated by the WHO. Initially classified as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineage, JN.1 has gained separate recognition as a variant of interest, with increasing prevalence reported globally in recent weeks.