India records 841 new Covid cases, highest in 227 days

India has logged 841 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, the highest in 227 days, while the number of active cases of the infection have been recorded at 4,309, health ministry data showed on Sunday. Three new fatalities -- one each from Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar -- have been reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the data. India had recorded 865 new cases on May 19. The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, but cases have again gone up after emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.

Several states have been reporting an increase in the number of Covid cases over the last few weeks. Nine states and union territories have so far detected the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus in the country. Ahead of the New Year's celebrations, the Centre has asked the states and Union territories to maintain a constant and close watch on the rising cases on JN.1. Earlier this week, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi also issued guidelines for Covid-19 suspected or positive cases that will be reported at hospitals. 

India has recorded a total of 162 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1, with the highest number of infections reported from Kerala, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium's (INSACOG) data on Friday. While Kerala has reported 83 cases, Gujarat recorded 34, Goa recorded 18, Karnataka has eight cases, Maharashtra reported seven, Rajasthan saw five, Tamil Nadu saw four, while Telangana and Delhi reported two and one cases respectively