India witnessed an increase of 628 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, with 312 active infections reported in the last 24 hours. Of those, the highest number of cases came from Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The total number of fatalities stands at 5,33,334 (5.33 lakh) till now, with one new death reported from Kerala in the last 24 hours, according to the information updated at 8 am.

India’s Covid case tally currently stands at 4,50,09,248 (4.50 crore), with a case fatality rate of 1.18 percent.

In the past 24 hours, 315 people have recovered from the virus, making the number of people recovered from the disease rise to 4,44,71,860 (4.44 crore). Currently, the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, according to the Health Ministry website.

According to Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, COVID-19 cases are increasing in southern states of India.

"COVID cases are increasing more in southern states like Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. We only receive three to four cases per day, which is even less than one per cent. Moreover, the state government has made all the necessary arrangements," he was quoted as saying.

According to the ministry website, 220.67 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered.

Despite its rapid growth, WHO, on Tuesday classified the JN.1 coronavirus strain as a "variant of interest" but specified that the risk associated with it is low.

"Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low," WHO said.

Classifying JN.1 as a distinct variant of interest is a direct departure from WHO’s earlier classification of it as part of the BA.2.86 sublineages.