Covid-19 cases in India are rising again, with 358 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, pushing the active caseload to 6,491, according to the Union Health Ministry. No deaths were recorded during this time.Gujarat reported a sudden spike with 158 new cases, while Kerala remains the worst-affected state, logging seven fresh cases and taking its active tally to 1,957. Delhi, which has seen a consistent rise in infections, registered 42 new cases. On Monday, the country crossed the 6,000 mark in active cases after reporting 378 fresh cases and six deaths in a single day.

Other states which have a rising number of active Covid cases include West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Bihar. Meanwhile, states and union territories such as Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Goa,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Punjab, and Tripura did not report any cases in the last 24 hours.

A total of 624 people recovered from the infection, raising the cumulative number of recoveries to 6,861. Meanwhile, a new Covid-19 variant named XFG has been detected in India. As per INSACOG data, 163 cases of this variant have been reported so far out of over 6,000 total cases. According to The Lancet journal, the XFG variant, which carries four key spike protein mutations, was first identified in Canada and has spread rapidly across several countries. Health experts have advised elderly people, individuals with comorbidities, and other vulnerable groups to wear face masks in crowded places, maintain hygiene, and use hand sanitisers regularly to stay safe from the infection.