New Delhi: A total of 69 cases of JN.1 subvariant of COVID have been reported in the country till December 25, Health Ministry sources said on Tuesday (December 26). As many as 34 cases were reported from Karnataka, 14 from Goa, nine from Maharashtra, six from Kerala, 4 Tamil Nadu and two from Telangana, the sources said. The total number of active cases in the country was recorded at 4,170. Karnataka reported 436 cases, Kerala 3096, Maharashtra 168, Gujarat 56, and Tamil Nadu 139 cases, according to Union Health Ministry data.
Also Read: COVID-19 Updates: India Recorded Over 600 COVID Cases; States Gear Up To Contain The Spread
Meanwhile, amid rising concerns over the emergence of the new variant of the coronavirus, Dr Randeep Guleria, former director of AIIMS Delhi said,
This is the season when you will see viral infection, respiratory infection becoming more. Every year we see them whether it’s influenza, COVID, RSV or other viral infections. And that happens because of the temperature and crowding. As it’s a holiday season, people travel so they will carry the virus with them. There are crowds and many of the crowds stay indoors because of the cold weather, which leads to the spread of infection which is different in different people. So I would say what we need to do is first of all COVID appropriate behaviour like wash your hands regularly if you have a cough, and cold so that you don’t spread the infection to others.
He further said,
Avoid going to crowded places, especially if you have a fever, cough and cold because you may be spreading the infection to others.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.
Also Read: 21 Cases Of Covid Sub-Variant JN.1 Found In Three States, Says NITI Aayog Member V K Paul
Here are the updates from several states in India:
Karanataka
Karnataka reported 125 fresh cases of Covid-19 and three new coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours. This takes the total number of active cases in the state to 436, a Health bulletin said. The Karnataka Department of Health & Family Welfare Services said 34 cases of COVID-19’s variant JN.1 have been detected in the state so far, which include three deaths. Earlier in the day, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao had said about 35 cases of JN.1 have been detected in Karnataka so far, but had maintained that the information is subjected to details shared by the department, later. Out of these 34 cases of JN.1 detected in Karnataka, 20 are from Bengaluru city alone.
On Tuesday, the Karnataka government’s cabinet sub-committee on coronavirus, issued guidelines for citizens amid the surge in the coronavirus cases. Wearing masks, not sending children with symptoms to schools, adhering to COVID appropriate behaviour like social distancing, seven days home isolation and leave for infected patients, are some of the measures issued. The sub-committee has also decided to administer “precautionary vaccine” for the aged and those with comorbidities and to get 30,000 doses of Corbevax vaccine from the Centre for this purpose.
Telangana
Telangana recorded ten new COVID-19 cases on Monday with nine new infections reported from Hyderabad and one case was from Karimnagar. The total number of cases under treatment/ isolation stood at 55, a Health department bulletin said. A total of 989 samples were tested on Monday and reports were pending for 12, it said.
No fresh fatalities due to the virus were reported on Monday, it said.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra recorded 28 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, and at least 10 cases of JN.1 variant has been reported in the state to date, said the health department. According to the Public Health Department of Maharashtra, 80,23,431 COVID-19 patients have been discharged after full recovery, of which 13 were discharged on Monday. The recovery rate in the state is 98.18 per cent while the case fatality rate in the state is 1.81 per cent.
Delhi
The Delhi government has sent COVID-19 positive samples to laboratories for genome sequencing, officials said on Tuesday. Sixty-three cases of Covid sub-variant JN.1 were reported in the country till Sunday, including 34 in Goa, official sources said. Nine cases have been detected in Maharashtra, eight in Karnataka, six in Kerala, four in Tamil Nadu and two in Telangana, they added. An official said,
Delhi is witnessing three-four (Covid) cases every day, which means the positivity rate is less than 1 per cent. The samples of the positive patients have been sent for genome sequencing.
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Monday that the national capital is recording three-four Covid cases on an average every day and asserted that the city is well equipped to fight the virus resurgence.
Himachal Pradesh
Following the detection of COVID-19 variant JN.1 in the country, Himachal Pradesh’s health department has issued an advisory to the chief medical officers in the state to test patients with Covid-like symptoms and take necessary precautions, officials said. People with symptoms of cold, fever or cough are advised to take a Covid test, Una CMO Dr Sanjeev Kumar said on Tuesday. He also urged people to wear masks. In cases of respiratory diseases like influenza, cough, cold, sore throat, runny nose, headache and fever, all patients should get an RT-PCR test done immediately, doctors said.
Also Read: Uttarakhand Issues Advisory To Adhere To Covid Prevention Guidelines
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
