India records 269 new COVID-19 cases, active cases drop to 2,556

India reported 269 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, as per the health ministry's update on Wednesday. The total active cases have decreased to 2,556. A total of  three deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours – two in Kerala and one in Maharashtra.

The daily cases had dropped to double digits until December 5, but a new variant and cold weather caused a rise afterward. The highest single-day increase was 841 cases on December 31, 2023, which is only 0.2% of the peak cases in May 2021.

About 92% of active cases are recovering at home. The JN.1 sub-variant doesn't seem to cause a significant increase in cases, hospitalizations, or deaths, according to official sources.
India has faced three COVID-19 waves, with the delta wave peaking in April-June 2021. On May 7, 2021, the highest daily cases (414,188) and deaths (3,915) were reported.

Since the pandemic's start in early 2020, over 4.5 crore people got infected, and more than 5.3 lakh died in about four years. However, over 4.4 crore people have recovered, yielding a national recovery rate of 98.81%. The country has administered 220.67 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines, as per the health ministry's website.