New Delhi: A single-day rise of 760 new cases of Covid was recorded in the country as two more deaths have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours–one each in Kerala and Karnataka, according to data provided by the Union Health Ministry on Thursday (January 4). The total active caseload of the viral disease was logged at 4,423, a decrease of 17 since Wednesday morning, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (MoHFW). The data is a compilation of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (National Centre for Disease Control), media bulletins and websites of various States at 8 am on January 4.
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With this, the total count of coronavirus cases in India since its outbreak in January 2020 has reached 4,50,15,896. The death toll due to COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 533373, reflecting an increase of two deaths.
In Kerala, a 39-year-old male with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in Karnataka a 65-year-old male with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis, Portal Vein Thrombosis, diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) succumbed to Covid.
In Odisha, two cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected, a senior official said on Thursday (January 4).
The two cases were detected in Sundargarh and Bhubaneswar, Director of Health Services Bijay Kumar Mohapatra said, adding that the health conditions of both patients are stable. He said,
Samples of 28 people who were found to be COVID-positive were sent for genome sequencing and of them, two were found to be infected with the JN.1 variant.
The patient from Sundargarh was under treatment at home and has completed his isolation period. None of his contacts were found to be symptomatic, Mr Mohapatra said.
The other patient is an elderly woman who was under treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. She is stable at present, he said, adding,
We are following all protocols set for the JN.1 sub-variant. Detection of a new variant of a virus is normal. After JN.1, another new variant of the COVID-19 may come. Besides, the scientific community has said that the severity of the JN.1 variant is not established yet. So, there is no need to panic.
At present, there are 25 active cases in the state, officials said.
A total of 5, 31,342 tests were done on January 3 as per the official report by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Both the central and state governments are keeping a close watch on the new Omicron Subvariant JN.1.
JN.1 is a Variant of Interest (VOI) which is under intense scientific scrutiny. As of December 16, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported 7,344 cases of Covid-19 JN.1 subvariant from 41 countries, whereas 145 cases of JN.1 subvariant were reported in India till December 28, as per official sources.
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.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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.
