Doctors have said that a combination of mild but infectious variants of COVID-19, lower testing rates and the current viral season are behind the sudden rise in cases — from just 35 on April 28 to over 3,700 within a month.
India has recorded 3,758 active cases up to June 1.
Gold Rate
03 June 2025
Five states — Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Karnataka accounted for 76 per cent of the total infections, said the latest data from the ministry of health and family welfare.
Among states, Kerala saw the highest caseload of 1,400, a rise of 970 cases over last week. It is followed by Maharashtra at 485 cases, of which 50 were reported on Saturday itself. Delhi, too, saw an increase of 332 cases since May 26, with the national capital currently reporting 436 active cases.
Similarly, Gujarat and Karnataka also reported high numbers at 320 and 238 active cases, respectively.
The surge has been more pronounced in the last week of May, with health ministry data suggesting that India saw a 272 per cent rise in cases within a six-day period (May 26 to June 1).
Dr Neha Rastogi Panda, consultant at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, said Kerala, Maharashtra, and Delhi are seeing a notable uptick in infections from emerging subvariants of JN.1, such as NB.1.8.1 and LF.7.
According to data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (Insacog), India has already detected six cases of the LF.7 variant from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Similarly, two cases of NB.1.8.1 subvariant have been detected from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu this month.
“A notable but gradual increase in cases of acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs) caused by seasonal influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is being seen in some parts of the country,” sources in the ministry added.
