India has reported 10,158 new COVID-19 cases, the federal Health Ministry stated on Thursday while revealing the latest statistics for the past 24 hours since Wednesday.
This is the highest number of daily cases recorded in the past eight months.
The active caseload now stands at 44,998 and the daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.42 percent.
The total number of COVID-19 cases reported in the country is 44,210,127. Delhi and Mumbai both reported more than 1,000 daily cases for the first time this year.
According to experts, the present rise in COVID-19 cases is attributed to XBB.1.16, a sub-variant of Omicron.
As the number of cases surges, the health ministry and state health departments have ensured they have enough beds, oxygen cylinders, ICU/ventilator beds, medicine, and other essentials to handle the situation.
However, Dr MK Sudarshan, chairman of the COIVD-19 technical advisory committee said that individuals with no comorbidities will recover easily.
“XBB and its sub-variants which are in circulation now, are highly transmissible and lead to infections. Healthy individuals get symptoms like coughs and colds. They recover and get along with their daily routine. However, people with comorbidities are at risk,” he told reporters.