India’s covid cases rise to nearly 3,000
The number of active Covid-19 cases in India on Saturday crossed the 3,000 mark and increased to 3,395, with Kerala accounting for the highest infections at 1,336, followed by Maharashtra and Delhi, Union health ministry data released showed.
This is possibly the first time in over two years that India’s active Covid case tally has breached the 3,000 mark.
According to the data released on Saturday, four deaths, one each in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours.
Maharashtra has recorded 467 cases, Delhi has 375, Gujarat has 265, Karnataka has 234, West Bengal has 205, Tamil Nadu has 185 and Uttar Pradesh has 117 cases currently.
There were 257 active cases in the country on May 22. The figure rose to 1,010 by May 26 and reached 3,395 on Saturday. In the last 24 hours, 685 new cases have been reported and four people have died, according to the data.
The last time the country crossed 3,000 active cases was on April 1, 2023, when the case load was 3,084, according to a Worldometer index that tracks Covid-19 cases.
“We have been closely monitoring the situation. At this moment, overall, we should monitor, be vigilant but there is no cause to worry,” the Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr Rajiv Behl said, as quoted by PTI.
Four subvariants of Omicron, LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB.1.8.1, have been found, with the first three being more prevalent in the caseload, added Behl.