Edited by : Sandeep Dhand
Ludhiana/Delhi
18 January 2024
In a promising turn of events, India has witnessed a significant decline in daily COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks, dropping from over 840 on December 31 to a mere 269 on Tuesday. Government officials reported that the number of active cases has now dwindled to 2,556, with only three deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
The decline follows a spike in cases fueled by the emergence of a new variant, JN.1, and the onset of winter. Although the number of new cases had fallen to below 100 in early December, it subsequently surged, leading to an increase in overall active cases from around 2,800 to over 4,500.
Health Ministry sources emphasized that a majority of the new cases were mild infections, with 90 percent not requiring hospitalization. Among the 10 percent who did, only 1.1 percent were admitted to ICUs, 0.5 percent needed oxygen support, and a mere 0.3 percent required ventilators.
Despite over 1,200 reported cases of the JN.1 variant across 17 states, health officials assured the public that it is not a cause for concern. Data suggests that JN.1 is not leading to an exponential rise in new cases, hospitalization, or mortality.
It is crucial to note that while the situation in India has improved, COVID-19 remains a formidable global health threat. The World Health Organization, while acknowledging the decline in global health emergency status, stressed that the virus is still circulating, changing, and causing fatalities. JN.1 has been classified as a ‘variant of interest,’ but the WHO deems it to pose a ‘low’ global public health risk.
As India navigates through these challenging times, the government has urged all states and union territories to maintain constant vigilance and ensure strict compliance with COVID-19 guidelines to prevent any resurgence.