An upward trend in new Covid-19 cases continued in India on Friday, with the country recording 7,584 new cases and 24 deaths. With this, active cases rose to 36,267. The total number of recoveries logged in the last 24 hours was 3,791, The Indian Express reported.

The BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants are making their presence felt across various areas in the country with the daily Covid tally now showing a rise in the country. When contacted, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist, told The Indian Express that it could be the start of a mini wave. “The sub-variants that are emerging are more transmissible than the original Omicron BA.1 and there is a likelihood of waning immunity. It is a possibility that there could be mini waves every four-six months or so and hence, apart from all Covid-appropriate precautionary measures that need to be taken, it is important to also track the variant,” Dr Swaminathan said, according to The Indian Express.

The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported globally fell everywhere except the Middle East and Southeast Asia last week, according to a World Health Organisation weekly report released Wednesday. In its latest weekly update on the pandemic, the UN health agency said confirmed cases dropped 12% to more than 3 million and reported deaths declined 22 per cent to about 7,600.