COVID-19 cases in India rise to 1,000; Delhi has 100 active cases

COVID-19 cases in India: Delhi has 104 active cases, while Maharashtra has 209 cases and Kerala has 430 active cases currently, according to the data in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The total number of COVID cases in India has increased to 1,009 cases.

This comes amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, albeit mild. Two new COVID-19 variants have been detected in India – NB.1.8.1 and LF.7 variants, both classified by the World Health Organisation as ‘variants under monitoring’. The NB.1.8.1 variant was first detected in Tamil Nadu and LF.7 was first confirmed in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, the dominant strain remains JN.1 which is found in 53 per cent of all sequent samples, followed by BA.2 at 26 per cent and other Omicron sublineages at 20 per cent.

Official sources have said that most of the COVID cases reported in various states are mild and the patients are under home care. The situation was assessed by the Union Health Secretary on Saturday with the Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), DGHS and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Andaman & Nicobar Island, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, and Uttarakhand have not reported any cases yet.

Andhra Pradesh has reported four cases, Chhattisgarh one, Delhi 104, Goa one, Gujarat 83, Haryana nine, Karnataka 47, Kerala 430, Madhya Pradesh two, Maharashtra 209, Puducherry nine, Rajasthan 13, Tamil Nadu 69, Telangana one, Uttar Pradesh 15, and West Bengal 12 cases.

"It is observed that most of these cases are mild and under home care. It may also be mentioned that there have been some media reports regarding the increase in COVID-19 cases in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries in the recent past. It has been ascertained from the respective National IHR focal points that there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to the previously circulating variants," the source said.

(With PTI inputs)