Six people died of COVID-19 across India on Wednesday, December 20, according to the data published by the Union MInistry of Health and Family Welfare. Of these, three deaths were reported from Kerala, two from Karnataka, and one from Punjab.
The country also reported 358 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, with 300 of them being from Kerala. Karnataka reported 13 new cases, Tamil Nadu 12, Gujarat 11, and Maharashtra 10 new cases. Currently, there are 2669 active cases of COVID-19 in India. It is to be noted that Kerala conducts around 700-1000 tests daily.
This is the second consecutive day on which Kerala has reported three deaths. On December 16, the state had reported four deaths due to COVID-19.
So far, India has reported 21 cases of the JN.1 variant of SARS-COV-2, with 19 being from Kerala and one each from Kerala and Maharashtra. Kerala Health Minister Veena George had said that the 79-year-old woman who had shown the JN.1 infection had recovered following home treatment.
The reported symptoms of JN.1 include fever, runny nose, sore throat, headache and in some cases mild gastrointestinal symptoms.