Covid-19 cases in India continued to witness an uptick, with 358 cases being reported in the past 24 hours and the active tally rose to 6,491, according to the Union Health Ministry. However, no deaths were recorded in the same period.

Gujarat witnessed a sharp uptick in active Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with 158 new cases recorded, according to Health Ministry data. Kerala remained the worst-hit state with seven cases reported in the same period, pushing the active cases to 1,957.

Delhi, one of the affected places due to a sharp rise in active Covid-19 cases, reported 42 cases in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.

On Monday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 6,000 mark, with 378 new cases registered in the past 24 hours. However, six deaths were recorded in the same period.

Other states which saw a rise in active cases included West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Bihar.

Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Punjab and Tripura did not report any Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, as per the Health Ministry data.

As many as 624 people were discharged in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of recoveries to 6,861.

A newly emerging Covid-19 variant, XFG, has been detected in India, according to INSACOG data. So far, 163 cases have been identified from over 6,000-odd cases in the country.

The new variant, which harbours four key spike mutations, has achieved rapid global spread following its initial detection in Canada, according to an article in The Lancet journal.

Medical experts have advised people having comorbidities, senior citizens and those vulnerable to wear face masks in crowded places and use hand sanitisers regularly.

(with inputs from PTI)

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