India Logs 594 New Covid Cases In Last 24 Hours, 300 From Kerala Amid Surge

Amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Kerala on Thursday reported 300 new coronavirus infections out of 594 across the country.

Kerala reports 300 new cases. ( Image Source :PTI )

Kerala reported 300 new active cases of Covid-19 on Dec 20, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data on Dec 31 (08:00 am). The state also reported three deaths and the total number of active cases of Covid-19 in the country is 2669. A total of 594 fresh Covid cases have been recorded in the country in the last 24 hours of which, 300 are from Kerala.

The total number of people who have died due to coronavirus in Kerala since its outbreak three years ago reached 72,059, the data said.

Kerala reported 300 new active cases of Covid-19 and 3 deaths on 20th December, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of active cases of Covid-19 in the country is 2669. pic.twitter.com/k3Z6y5f9VO

— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2023

Meanwhile, the number of people who were cured, discharged or migrated in the last 24 hours after being diagnosed with the infection stood at 211. The total number of cases under this category rose to 68,37,414 till date.

This comes amid the discovery of a new Covid-19 sub-variant -- JN.1-- which is said to be more transmissible, but not lethal as of now. On Tuesday, state Health Minister Veena George said that despite the increase in coronavirus cases in Kerala, there was nothing to be concerned about as the hospitals were well-prepared to handle the virus infection.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked all the states to stay vigilant amid the recent surge in cases. The ministry has also asked people to not panic but directed the hospitals to be prepared in case the infections rise. The Centre in its advisory asked the states to report and monitor district-wise severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) cases on a regular basis. It also urged them to ensure adequate testing, including a higher number of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, is conducted, and to send positive samples for genetic testing to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories, according to a statement released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.