COVID-19 Update: India reports 305 new cases, active cases down to 2,439

India reported a single-day increase of 305 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of active cases down to 2,439, according to the health ministry's data from Thursday (January 18).

Three deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, one each from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat. Daily cases had dropped to double-digits until December 5 but began to rise with the emergence of a new variant and colder weather.

A maximum single-day increase of 841 new cases was reported on December 31, representing 0.2 percent of the peak cases reported in May 2021. Approximately 92 percent of the total active cases are recovering at home. Current data suggests that the JN.1 sub-variant is not causing a significant increase in new cases or in hospitalizations and deaths.

India has experienced three COVID-19 waves, with the highest number of daily new cases and deaths reported during the delta wave in April-June 2021. On May 7, 2021, at the peak of the wave, 414,188 new cases and 3915 deaths were reported.