India logs 5 Covid-19 deaths as cases continue to surge

India is witnessing a continuous surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, with five deaths and 335 fresh Covid-19 cases reported.

Four of the deaths were in Kerala and one in Uttar Pradesh, the Union Health Ministry has said.

The number of active cases has risen to 1,701. The national recovery rate was pegged at 98.81 per cent, the Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, a case of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 has been detected in a 79-year-old woman from Kerala as part of an ongoing routine surveillance activity of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), a senior official from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Saturday (December 16).

The case was detected in an RT-PCR positive sample from Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram district of the southern state on December 8, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of the ICMR, said.

The sample had tested RT-PCR positive on November 18, he added. The woman had mild symptoms of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and has since recovered from Covid-19.

On Sunday, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 that was detected in the state was not a cause for concern.

Speaking to the media about the new variant, George said the sub-variant was detected months ago in Indian passengers who were screened at Singapore airport.

Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 was first detected in the United States in September 2023. According to experts, JN.1 is a descendant of Omicron’s BA.2.86.

(with inputs from agencies)