4 COVID Deaths in 24-Hrs in India as Active Cases Rise to 3420

New Delhi: The active COVID-19 cases in India rose to 3,420 on Saturday as four deaths linked to the infection were reported in the past 24 hours, said the Union Health Ministry data.

According to the ministry data updated at 8 am on Saturday, 17 states saw an increase in active Covid-19 cases. Of them, Kerala (266), Karnataka (70), Maharashtra (15), Tamil Nadu (13) and Gujarat (12) were some of the affected states.

Two persons died in Kerala and one death each occurred in Karnataka and Rajasthan, the health ministry said. The COVID death toll increased to 5,33,332, while the case fatality rate was 1.18 per cent. The national recovery rate was pegged at 98.81 per cent.

The government has said the current spike in COVID-19 cases was not a cause for concern and urged people not to panic. However, the Centre has advised people having comorbidities to wear face masks as a precautionary measure.

So far, 22 cases of the Covid sub-variant JN.1 have been reported across the country until December 21. Out of them, 19 have been traced in Goa and one each in Kerala and Maharashtra.