India Reports 636 Fresh COVID-19 Cases and Three Deaths in 24 Hours

India reported 636 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total active cases to 4,394, as per the health ministry's update on Monday. Three new fatalities due to Covid were recorded in the last 24 hours, with two from Kerala and one from Tamil Nadu, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

The daily case numbers had dropped to double digits until December 5 last year but have risen again due to the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions. At the peak of the pandemic in early 2020, daily numbers were in lakhs, resulting in over 4.5 crore infections and more than 5.3 lakh deaths in about four years across the country.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease stands at over 4.4 crore, with a national recovery rate of 98.81%, as per the ministry's website. According to the website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the country.

On Sunday (December 31), Maharashtra recorded 131 new cases of COVID-19, as reported by the health department. However, the number of patients infected with the JN.1 variant remains at 10. These cases were reported in Thane, Pune, and Akola cities, as well as Pune and Sindhudurg districts. According to the Public Health Department of Maharashtra, 80,23,576 COVID-19 patients have been discharged after full recovery. The state's recovery rate is 98.17%, while the case fatality rate is 1.81%. Out of 8,76,33,748 laboratory samples, 81,72,836 have tested positive (9.33%) for COVID-19.