New covid variant JN.1: India logs 21 cases; Know more

 

With the reports of the arrival of the JN.1 Covid variant in India, 2669 active cases were reported in 24 hours on TThursday. According to the Union Health Ministry, an uptick in Covid cases has been observed in Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Karnataka. On Wednesday, NITI Aayog member (health) Dr V K Paul said, India has logged 21 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 so far.

JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) variant emerged in late 2023 and is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of coronavirus.

Two Covid-19-related deaths have been reported in Karnataka on Wednesday. It is unclear if the death was due to the new subvariant JN.1.

• Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya convened a meeting with representatives of the health department yesterday in which he reiterated that Covid was not over yet and urged the states to monitor emerging cases, symptoms, and case severity to plan appropriate public health response.
• Hospitals across the country are on alert amid the upward trend of Covid cases in the country. Dr Rohit Kumar, Head of Pulmonary Medicine at Safdarjung Hospital said, “We are on high alert, conducting COVID tests, and sending samples for genome sequencing.”
• A 41-year-old has tested positive for new Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. No further details were available about the patient.
• Kerala reported 300 new active cases of Covid-19 and 3 deaths on 20th December, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• West Bengal Health Department will continue its surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases, in accordance with central guidelines.