India recorded 5,335 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours which is 20% higher than the previous day’s number. This is the first time that the daily count of new Covid infections has surpassed 5,000-mark since September 23 last year.

As many as 13 deaths have also been reported with two each from Karnataka and Maharashtra, one each from Kerala and Punjab, and seven previous deaths reconciled by Kerala, the health ministry data updated today showed.

The daily positivity rate has gone up to 3.32 per cent in the country while the total active caseload stands at 25,587. The positivity rate shows number of people confirmed to be infected with Covid for every 100 tests that are carried out.

Delhi reported 509 fresh Covid cases for Wednesday with the positivity rate shooting up to 26 per cent from 15.64% on Tuesday.

The consistent climb in daily case counts over the past few weeks has alarmed authorities at the centre and states. The governments have been holding review meetings to assess the readiness of the health infrastructure to tackle a surge in cases.

It has been almost a week since Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 3000 mark and the situation has taken a turn for the worse.

On April 5, India reported 4431 new cases of coronavirus, a 45 per cent jump over the previous day.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that Omicron’s sub-variant which is circulating in the country has not led to an increase in hospitalisations and there is no need to worry.