Covid-19 surge: Delhi reports first case of JN. 1 sub variant

Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country, national capital New Delhi has reported first case of sub-variant JN.1.

Delhi has more than 35 active cases with nine fresh infections being reported on Wednesday, an official said, adding that a 28-year-old man, who had comorbidities, died, with Covid not being the primary reason.

"The man was not from Delhi and was referred to a private hospital recently. He had multiple comorbidities and the Covid finding was incidental. The sample of the man has been sent for genome sequencing and a report is awaited," he added.

The official said multiple samples were sent for genome sequencing, and one of them tested positive for the JN.1 variant.

India recorded 529 fresh COVID-19 cases in a single day, while the country's active infection count stood at 4,093, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

Three new fatalities -- two from Karnataka and one from Gujarat -- were reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, but infections have again gone up after emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.