Coronavirus Live Updates: Arcturus Variant of XBB.1.16, Omicron Raise Concern In India

COVID-19 Live Updates: India's coronavirus death toll has increased to 5,31,114 with 23 new fatalities in 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry data said.

COVID-19 Live Blog: In the last 24 hours, India has reported a slight dip in its daily COVID infections. As per reports, the country has logged a total of 9,111 new coronavirus infections, taking the country's active cases to 53,720. The Union Health Ministry data also stated that the COVID death toll has increased to 5,31,114 with 23 deaths. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 5.61 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.78 per cent.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an advisory and asked everyone to not panic but follow the safety protocols. Talking about the currently dominant strain in India, the global health body said that the variant is contagious but its spread can be managed with safety precautions, and its severity can be averted with vaccination.

What do we know about the dominant XBB.1.16 variant so far? This is a recombinant of two sub-variants- BA2.10.1 and BA.2.75. Also known by the name Arcturus, this variant has an additional spike protein which in lab studies shows increased infectivity as well as potential increased pathogenicity, as per the WHO.