Karnataka has observed a significant increase in the number of children under the age of ten who have contracted COVID-19.

The state recorded slightly more than 12,800 cases in the first three weeks of January, representing a 77% increase with nine days remaining. This is in comparison to 376 cases in December and 332 cases in November.

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So far, the number of cases recorded in January exceeds the total number of cases reported in the six months between July and December 2021. During that time, the illness infected 7,246 youngsters in the state.

Between January 1 and February 22, 12,876 children were affected, averaging about 585 individuals per day. Up to January 16, the state had recorded an average of 350 occurrences in this category, with 5,726 cases added. Another 7,150 such cases have been added in the last week.

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The last time monthly instances in this category exceeded 10,000 was in May of last year when almost 20,000 cases were documented. Even in April of last year, when the second wave was in full swing, there were more than 20,000 instances. The state had approximately 77,000 cases in this age range at the end of May, which grew to 94,340 at the end of December. It passed the one-million level on January 16 and is now approaching the 1.1 lakh mark.

However, health department authorities claim that almost the majority of these diseases are minor. “The increase in infections among children is to be expected given the overall increase in cases over the last month.” However, hospitalizations and fatalities remain minimal, indicating that things are still under control, according to an official quoted by the Times of India.

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In the last 24 hours, India reported 3,06,064 new cases of COVID-19, raising concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus. According to India’s Health Ministry, the number of new cases dropped by more than 27,469 from Sunday to Monday.

According to the data, India recorded 2,43,495 recoveries in the last 24 hours and 439 additional deaths linked to COVID-19. The active caseload in India is currently 22,49,335 people, with a daily positivity rate of 20.75%, according to the Health Ministry.