India's Covid-19 Cases Near 6,000 Mark, Kerala Remains Worst-Hit

India's active coronavirus cases have climbed to 5,755, with Kerala fighting the latest resurgence of infections - followed by Gujarat and Delhi. According to the data available on the official website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 391 new cases were added to the active case count since Friday.

Kerala has recorded 1,806 cases, Gujarat 717, Delhi 665, and West Bengal 622. Maharashtra has recorded a total of 577 cases so far, while Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have reported 444 and 208 cases, respectively. Tamil Nadu has reported 194 cases, Puducherry 13, Haryana 87, Andhra Pradesh 72, Madhya Pradesh 32, and Goa nine.

Official data shows a total of 59 deaths in the past few weeks due to the deadly virus so far, which began in 2020.

In the last 24 hours, 4 people died - two of whom (a 45-year-old woman from Madhya Pradesh, and a 79-year-old man from Tamil Nadu) were diagnosed with Covid-19. However, it is not yet clear whether others died due to the infection.

While states are on alert, officials have said that the coronavirus cases are mild in nature and there is no need to panic.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said the genome sequencing of samples in the west and south has shown that the new variants are sub-variants of Omicron, a strain that was behind the big Covid wave in India in 2022. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB.1.8.1, ICMR chief Dr Rajiv Behl said.

However, he added that the severity of infections as of now is generally mild, and there is no cause for worry.

"Whenever cases increase, we look at three things. It's dependent on three factors, with the first being how transmissible it is, conversely, how fast the cases are increasing. Previously, we saw Covid-19 cases double in two days, but this time it is not that cases are increasing rapidly," Dr Behl said.