New Delhi: India reported a single-day rise of 702 cases of COVID-19, and the number of active cases of the infection rose to 4,097, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. According to the ministry data updated at 8 am, there were six new deaths in a 24-hour period, of which two were in Maharashtra and one each in Karnataka, Kerala, Bengal Occidental and Delhi. The number of daily cases had dropped to double digits on December 5, but cases have increased again after the emergence of new variants and colder climatic conditions. Daily figures were in the millions at the peak of the pandemic, which began in early 2020 and has infected more than 4.5 million people and caused more than 5.3 lakh deaths in the nearly four years since then across the country. According to the ministry’s website, the number of people who have recovered from the infection has crossed 44 lakh with a national recovery rate of 98.81 percent. According to the website, Covid vaccine doses worth Rs 220.67 crore have been administered in the country so far.