New Delhi: India has been witnessing a surge in the coronavirus cases for the last two weeks, with several states reporting the cases of new Omicron’s variant JN.1. Last week, the central government held a meeting to review preparedness of the health facilities across the country and stressed on being alert against emerging strains of coronavirus. A look at the updates on the coronavirus cases that have come in from several states:
Karnataka
Karnataka reported 74 fresh cases of Covid-19 and two coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours. This takes the total number of active cases in the state to 464, a Health bulletin said. With this, the total number of Covid-19 related deaths in the state after the recent spike in cases stands at nine. There were 34 cases of the JN.1 variant found in the state.
Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that the government is well prepared and nothing is ‘alarming’. He said,
430 cases are active out of which 400 are in home isolation and the remaining are in hospital. 7-8 patients are in ICU. As of now, things are okay. We have done genome sequencing. There are 34 cases of JN.1 variant of COVID. We are well prepared. Nothing is alarming. the majority of the cases are in Bengaluru.
Further, he also advised people to maintain social distancing. He added,
Old people will be getting the booster vaccine. If they want can take it. About 30,000 vaccines, we are procuring. We will give the anti-flu vaccine to our health workers. New year is coming; we are advising people to maintain physical distancing.
Telangana
Eight new COVID cases were reported by the Government of Telangana, Office of the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, in the last 24 hours. A total of 59 cases are under treatment. The recovery rate has been stated as 99.51 per cent. All the cases were reported from Hyderabad.
The state government said that patients with moderate to severe symptoms, with or without a COVID positive report can go to any notified Government COVID Hospital where the Government has made elaborate arrangements for testing and treatment. Based on the clinical requirements, beds will be provided and treatment will be given free of cost in Government hospitals.
Delhi
The national capital has reported the first case of JN.1 variant infection, said Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj. Mr Bharadwaj told ANI,
Delhi has reported the first case of JN.1, a Sub-Variant of Omicron. Out of the 3 samples sent for Genome Sequencing, one is JN.1 and the other two are Omicron.
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday (December 26), said the national capital’s Covid positivity rate is around 1 per cent and stressed that people should, instead of panicking, follow precautions during the winter festival season. Genome sequencing of samples testing positive for COVID-19 has been ramped up, he said. He said,
The report of genome sequencing is awaited.
Talking about the situation in Delhi, he said 400 tests are being conducted every day and the positivity rate is around 1 per cent. Minister Bharadwaj reiterated that the new JN.1 sub-variant of the Omicron strain is not life-threatening.
The new variants are not dangerous but people should not become lax and (they must) follow precautions. People should not panic and think that the virus is spreading and people are dying. But people should be cautious during this time of the festival season.
Maharashtra
As many as 87 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths were recorded in Maharashtra on Wednesday (December 27), the health department said. The number of patients infected with the JN.1 variant remains at 10. Mumbai recorded 19 cases, while Pune city and Sangli district recorded one fatality each.
According to the Public Health Department of Maharashtra, 80,23,456 COVID-19 patients have been discharged after full recovery, of which 14 were discharged on Wednesday (December 27).
Puducherry
A 58-year-old daily wager died of Covid-19 on Wednesday (December 27) in a government hospital for chest diseases here.
Director of Health G Sriramulu told PTI that the worker had co-morbidities, including a cardiac problem. He was first admitted to the Government General Hospital here. As he was diagnosed with Covid pneumonia, he was later shifted to the hospital for chest diseases, where he died today.
Detailing the current coronavirus situation in Puducherry, G Sriramulu said that six people were in home isolation after they tested positive for the virus.
Odisha
Odisha reported two fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the coronavirus tally to five in December so far, a health department official said on Wednesday. Niranjan Mishra, the state’s public health director, said,
In November, we had registered 11 cases while this month, so far, only five cases have been detected. We are closely monitoring the situation and have instructed the districts to enhance surveillance for influenza-like illness.
He said COVID-19 cases have marginally increased across India, with five states – Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa – contributing to over 90 per cent of the infections.
Amid rising concerns over the emergence of the new variant of the coronavirus, Dr Bobby Bhalotra, Vice Chairman in the Department of Chest Medicine, Gangaram Hospital, said,
The new variants are so far mild; they are from the family of the Omicron virus. So, the cases are not too much to be worried about; there is no panic as such but yes, it is a sign that it has come back again. It may flourish because it is more infectious than the normal COVID virus so we have to start taking precautions. Precaution and prevention are better than cures. Take precautions so that doesn’t spread for them.
He added,
“There is an increase in cases of respiratory illness in OPD of 20-30 per cent due to weather changes, viral illness and an increase in pollution in the national capital.
He further said that patients who already have Asthma, interstitial lung disease, or COPD are getting exacerbations mostly from various viruses, including the H1N1 virus or swine flu.
The doctor said,
Despite having a vaccine against these viruses, especially H1N1, people are not getting themselves inoculated in time, and the immune system, which can be prevented by taking a vaccine, is not being used by many patients. So, this increasing exacerbation of breathing problems is due to viruses and more because of pollution. Pollution in our city is very high. And that impacts the lungs of patients, especially those with asthma, bronchitis, and interstitial lung disease. So that’s another reason why the number of patients is higher these days in the OPDs.
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
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