New Delhi: In the latest update from the Union health ministry, India has reported 441 new COVID-19 infections, marking a decline in daily cases. The number of active cases has decreased to 3,238, and no deaths were reported within the past 24 hours as per the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.

The decline in daily cases was observed until December 5, after which an upward trend was noted, attributed to cold weather conditions and the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant, JN.1. Despite this, the highest single-day rise of 841 cases on December 31, 2023, accounted for only 0.2 per cent of the peak cases reported in May 2021.

Of the current active cases, approximately 92 per cent are recovering under home isolation. An official source mentioned, “The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in new cases nor a surge in hospitalization and mortality.”

India has experienced three waves of COVID-19, with the Delta wave peaking in April-June 2021, reporting 4,14,188 cases and 3,915 deaths on May 7, 2021. Since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, over 4.5 crore people have been infected, and the death toll stands at over 5.3 lakh across the country.

On a positive note, the national recovery rate is reported at 98.81 per cent, with over 4.4 crore people having recuperated from the disease. The ministry’s website indicates that a total of 220.67 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far, highlighting ongoing efforts in the vaccination campaign.