India has registered a steady rise in COVID-19 infections, with 498 fresh cases reported on Thursday, pushing the active caseload to 5,364, according to the Union Health Ministry on Friday. Despite the rise, health experts emphasise that the current surge is mild, seasonal, and not a cause for alarm.
The increase is being driven by sub-lineages of the Omicron variant — LF.7, XFG, JN.1, and NB.1.8.1 — which display high infectivity but low virulence. These variants have resulted in localised outbreaks across various regions, though hospitalisations and fatalities remain low, a senior health ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “This wave is largely being driven by Omicron sub-lineages. So far, hospitalisations remain minimal,” the official added.
According to data compiled from state health departments:
- Kerala leads with 1,487 active cases.
- Delhi reports 562 active cases, reflecting a clear upward trend.
- Maharashtra has 526 cases, with Mumbai alone recording 34 new infections and 569 cases since May.
- West Bengal logged 106 new infections, raising the active tally to 538.
- Karnataka saw 112 new cases, with 430 active patients.
- Gujarat has 508 active cases, mostly among the 25–50 age group.
- Madhya Pradesh recorded eight new cases and one death, with a total of 30 active cases.
Also read: India's active COVID cases near 5,000; infant among seven dead
In Surat, Gujarat, seven new infections were confirmed on Thursday, including an 80-year-old woman and a retired judge. Currently, 39 individuals are under medical observation in the district. A senior medical officer at Surat Civil Hospital stated, “Only around five per cent of patients require hospital admission, and those too are largely precautionary.”
So far, more than 55 deaths have been reported during the ongoing surge, with fatalities occurring in Kerala (two), Punjab (one), and Karnataka (one), health officials said. Nearly all of the deceased had underlying health conditions.
Experts have noted that India’s current infection trend mirrors seasonal surges seen in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong, suggesting that COVID-19 has entered an endemic phase.
Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, public health expert and former World Health Organization consultant, observed, “With every passing year, COVID-19 is causing milder infections. It is just another respiratory illness and less dangerous than flu. We can forget COVID-19 as a special case.”
Echoing this view, Dr Anurag Agarwal, Dean of Biosciences at Ashoka University’s Trivedi School, explained, “All the subvariants are similar — lower virulence but high infectivity. The vast majority do not develop severe symptoms, particularly those previously infected or vaccinated.”
In Pune, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR–NCL) has detected SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater samples from 10 sewage treatment plants. Scientists have noted that these patterns resemble those seen before previous infection waves.
Dr Abhijit Bansal, a virologist in Pune, advised continued vigilance: “The virus has not disappeared. It is now endemic in nature and continues to mutate. People must continue masking in crowded spaces and promptly report symptoms.”
Authorities have ruled out lockdowns or mass testing in the near future, recommending standard respiratory precautions, particularly for the elderly and those with comorbidities.
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