Covid-19 active cases at 4,026 in India; Delhi HC pushes for testing guidelines

A 53-year-old man in Gwalior tested positive for COVID-19 after he returned from Mumbai and isolated at his home, an official said on Tuesday.

Health officials received information about a COVID-19 case on Monday evening, said Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr. Sachin Srivastava.

"The 53-year-old man returned from Mumbai two days back. After he complained of ill health, his sample was examined in a private lab, which showed he had contracted coronavirus infection," he said, adding that samples of his family were also taken for investigation.

West Bengal reported 41 new COVID-19 cases today, along with the death of a 43-year-old woman from Howrah who was being treated at a private hospital in Kolkata.

The patient had underlying health conditions, including kidney problems and acute coronary syndrome, and passed away in the hospital’s isolation ward late Monday night, according to a state health department official.

In the past 24 hours, 11 patients have recovered, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

The state’s active COVID-19 cases now stand at 372.

India's active COVID-19 caseload rose to 4,026 as of 8 am today, with five additional deaths reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The fatalities were recorded from four states: Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

All five patients had underlying comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, cardiac conditions, and other chronic ailments, officials said.

The recent spike in cases is being driven by NB.1.8.1, a sub-variant of the Omicron strain.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), this new variant is highly contagious and mutates rapidly, though it is currently causing only mild illness.

The reported symptoms are akin to those of the common cold or seasonal flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, body aches, and loss of appetite.

Mumbai has emerged as a key hotspot, reporting 483 COVID-19 cases since January 1, with 477 of them surfacing in May.

Other cities contributing to the latest spike include Pune Municipal Corporation (17 cases), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (7), Thane (4), and smaller numbers from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Satara, Kolhapur, Akola, Sangli, and rural Pune.

Maharashtra recorded 59 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, with 20 reported from Mumbai alone, according to the state health department.

The fresh infections have pushed the total number of cases in the state this year to 873.

As per the health bulletin, Maharashtra has conducted 12,011 COVID-19 tests since January 2025. Of the total cases, 494 remain active while 369 patients have recovered.

Karnataka reported 87 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the state’s total number of active infections to 311, according to the latest bulletin issued by the health department.

The daily positivity rate stood at 17.2 percent, with 504 COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours.

These included 464 RT-PCR tests and 40 rapid antigen tests.

Despite the uptick in cases, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao assured the public that the situation remains under control and there's no need for panic.