India saw a slight decline in daily Covid cases with 636 new infections registered in the last 24 hours, as per the health ministry data. Meanwhile, three deaths have been reported -- two from Kerala and one from Tamil Nadu. At present, the active cases tally stands at 4,394.
According to INSACOG data, 196 cases of Covid variant JN.1 have been reported in the country as of now with Odisha also registering cases of the variant. The variant has so far been detected in 10 states and Union territories.
These states are Kerala (83), Goa (51), Gujarat (34), Karnataka (eight), Maharashtra (seven), Rajasthan (five), Tamil Nadu (four), Telangana (two) Odisha (one) and Delhi (one), according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
A total of 179 cases of the JN.1 variant was reported in the country till December and 17 such cases were registered in November.
This comes after India on Sunday logged its highest single-day rise in the last seven months with 841 infections.
The tally had dropped to double digits but registered a spike since December 5 last year with the emergence of a new variant coupled with cold weather conditions.
According to the health ministry website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered in the country.
Meanwhile, a 10-year-old girl who was admitted to a Bihar hospital with chest and lung infection and later tested Covid positive died on Sunday. She was later admitted to a private hospital, PTI reported.
KN Tiwari, the civil surgeon of Rohtas, informed that her sample was set to ascertain if she was infected with the new Covid variant.
The girl's father, Harendra Giri, said: "Sadhana was recently participating in a school programme in Sherghati block in Gaya district. After returning from that programme, she fell sick and was admitted to the hospital. When doctors conducted her RT-PCR test, she was found Covid positive."