India logs 2,710 active Covid-19 cases, Kerala tops with 1,147 infections

Health ministry data suggests the country saw 168% rise in active Covid cases in the last four days

India recorded 2,710 active Covid-19 cases as on May 30, with Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi and Gujarat making up for 77 per cent of the total infections in the country, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

 

The data suggests that there has been a 168 per cent rise in cases in India within four days, from 1,010 cases registered till May 26.

 

Among the states, Kerala has the highest caseload of 1,147, a rise of 717 cases over the last four days. It is followed by Maharashtra at 424 cases, of which 40 were reported on Thursday. 

 

 

Delhi too saw an increase of 190 cases since May 26, with the national capital currently reporting 294 active Covid-19 cases. Gujarat became the fourth state to cross the 200-mark, with 223 cases. 

 

At least seven deaths have been reported due to the virulent disease this month, with figures still being confirmed by agencies.

 

Karnataka (148 active cases), Tamil Nadu (148 active cases) and West Bengal (116 active cases) have also seen a rise in caseload in the last week.

 

According to sources in the ministry, the surge is being led by the JN.1, XFG and LF 7.9 variants, which belong to the Omicron family and cause mild infections.    

 

To counter this surge, several states and UTs have come out with advisories asking both government and private hospitals to ensure preparedness in terms of beds, oxygen, antibiotics and other drugs.

 

State governments have also asked hospitals for daily reporting of Influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses (SARI) to the Centre’s Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). 

 

Central health authorities also swung into action in recent weeks, holding several review meetings to assess the situation in the country. The review comes amid a noticeable uptick in Covid cases in Hong Kong and Singapore this month.

 

“The review meeting, led by the Union Health Secretary and the Director General (DG) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) last week found that most of the cases in India are mild and under home care,” sources added.

 

The ministry has stated that it remains vigilant and through its multiple agencies, is proactively monitoring the situation.

 

On the recent rise, Rajiv Bahl, director general at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said that cases have been rising in the southern and western parts of India, and now a surge is being seen in the northern region. 

 

“We are monitoring the situation through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP), which tracks cases nationwide,” he added.

 

Experts believe the SARS-CoV-2 variants currently circulating in Singapore are LF.7 and NB.1.8 — both descendants of the JN.1 variant of Omicron, which was also behind a rise in infections in India early last year.

 

According to data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (Insacog), India has already registered four cases of the LF.7 variant from Gujarat and one case of NB.1.8.1 sub variant from Tamil Nadu this month.