India Records 236 New COVID-19 Cases, Emphasizes Controlled Variant Impact

India's health ministry reported 236 new cases of COVID-19, with 2,031 active cases in the country. Over the past 24 hours, three new fatalities were recorded—one in Karnataka and two in West Bengal. The increase in daily cases began after the emergence of a new variant and the onset of cold weather conditions. On December 31, 2023, India reported 841 new cases, equivalent to 0.2% of the peak cases reported in May 2021.

Of the total active cases, approximately 92% are recovering under home isolation. The health ministry has noted that the JN.1 variant is not causing an exponential rise in new cases, hospitalizations, or mortality rates.

India has experienced three waves of COVID-19 in the past, with the Delta wave peaking between April and June 2021, reporting 4,14,188 new 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 more than 5.3 lakh people have lost their lives to the virus nationwide.

However, the recovery rate remains high, with over 4.4 crore people having recuperated from the disease, resulting in a national recovery rate of 98.81%. India has administered a total of 220.67 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines, reflecting the nation's ongoing efforts to combat the virus's spread and impact.