Maharashtra reported 86 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections since January 1 to 959, according to the state health department. Nationally, India recorded nearly 300 new cases in the past 24 hours, with Kerala and Maharashtra leading in new infections. The Union Health Ministry currently reports 4302 active cases across the country.

Globally, the situation is also escalating. Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) is no longer tracking worldwide daily case counts, countries like Thailand and Singapore have reported alarming spikes — 47,000 and 54,000 cases, respectively. Meanwhile, the United States and China are no longer reporting figures to the WHO, though anecdotal reports suggest rising case numbers in both countries.

The ongoing surge has been attributed to four major SARS-CoV-2 variants: LF.7, XFG, JN.1, and NB.1.8.1. These sublineages emerged from mutations at critical sites of the virus’s spike protein — specifically at amino acid positions 484, 501, 417, and 452, and near the furin cleavage site — which have altered the virus’s behavior, increasing transmissibility and enabling immune evasion.