The World Health Organisation has said that Covid-19 continues to claim the lives of approximately 1,700 individuals globally each week. 

India's robust pharmaceutical infrastructure was acknowledged, with Mandaviya stating that the country now produces 70% of the world's HIV/AIDS medicines. 

"The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 sub-variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in the new cases nor a surge in the hospitalisation and mortality," the official source stated.

Since December 5, the daily COVID-19 cases in the country have decreased to double-digits. However, the numbers began to rise again following the emergence of a new variant and the onset of cold weather conditions.

Six deaths — three from Karnataka, two from Chhattisgarh and one from Assam — have been reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry’s data updated on Tuesday.