New Delhi: India registered an increase of 656 new Covid-19 infections in a single day, causing the active caseload to rise from 3,420 to 3,742, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.

In the last 24 hours, one death in Kerala brought the nationwide death toll to 5,33,333, with a case fatality rate of 1.18 percent.

Kerala, where the Covid sub-variant JN.1 was first identified, reported the highest number of daily active cases (126). Other states, such as Karnataka (96), Maharashtra (35), Delhi (16), Telangana (11), and Gujarat (10), also observed an uptick in their daily active caseloads.

A total of 333 individuals recovered from Covid-19 the previous day, taking the total number of recoveries to 4.44 crore (4,44,71,545) recoveries, with a national recovery rate of 98.81 percent, as per the Health Ministry.

On Saturday, India reported 752 new Covid-19 infections, the highest since May 21, along with four deaths, causing the active cases to surpass 3,000 and reach 3,420.

The day before, 640 fresh Covid-19 cases and one death were recorded, leading to an increase in the active caseload from 2,669 to 2,997, according to the Health Ministry’s data.

Despite the spike, the Central government assured the public that the current rise in Covid-19 cases is not a cause for concern and urged people not to panic.

The government advised people with comorbidities to wear face masks as a precaution.

As of December 21, 22 cases of the Covid sub-variant JN.1 have been reported in the country, with 19 in Goa and one each in Kerala and Maharashtra.

No clustering of cases due to the JN.1 variant has been observed in India, and all reported cases were mild with patients recovering without complications, according to officials.