India reports 12 Covid-19 deaths, active cases remain above 4,000

India reported 12 deaths and 761 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, taking the national active case tally to 4,374. This was the highest single-day death toll in the country since its first JN.1 case was reported on December 17.

The country has recorded 72 deaths across twelve states and union territories due to the Covid-19 infection since December 17, with Kerala reporting the most deaths at 33. It is followed by Karnataka with 19 deaths, Maharashtra with five deaths, Tamil Nadu with four deaths, and the rest reporting one fatality each.

The rise in active cases and deaths have been attributed to the infectious nature of the JN.1 variant of Covid-19. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had categorised the JN.1 variant as a variant of interest (VOI) on December 19.

So far, 438 cases of the JN.1 variant have been detected in India, according to data updated on the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) website. These cases have been found across eleven states and union territories, with Kerala reporting the maximum JN.1 cases at 154. Maharashtra (87 cases), Goa (51 cases), and Gujarat (34 cases) followed Kerala as the next worst-affected states by the JN.1 variant.

National active cases figures declined by 89 on Friday, on account of 838 discharges as opposed to 761 fresh infections reported across the country.

Kerala mirrored the national sentiment, as the state witnessed a drop in active cases, reporting 363 discharges as opposed to 153 fresh infections, taking the state’s active caseload to 1,249.

Karnataka closed in on Kerala, reporting 298 fresh cases, taking the state’s active cases to 1,240. Maharashtra has 914 active cases, with the state reporting 171 fresh cases on Friday. It was followed by Tamil Nadu with 190 cases and Chhattisgarh with 128 cases. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal had also crossed the 100 active cases mark by Friday.

Eleven states and union territories have reported zero Covid-19 cases on Friday.