Covid-19 JN.1 Highlights: Delhi sees first case of new variant; hospitals on alert in Gurugram

India reported a total of 109 JN.1 COVID variant cases in the country as of December 26, Health Ministry sources have said. As many as 36 cases were reported from Gujarat, 34 from Karnataka, 14 from Goa, 9 from Maharashtra, 6 from Kerala, 4 from Rajasthan, 4 from Tamil Nadu and 2 from Telangana, the sources updated. Catch LIVE Updates here

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Amid rising Covid cases in Gurugram, the District Magistrate Nishant Kumar Yadav on Wendesday ordered hospitals to set up isolation wards, a dedicated section within each ICU, and a separate OPD for patients having Covid symptoms.

The order issued by the DM comes into force immediately and will remain in place till further orders.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Amid the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases across India, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of Delhi on Wednesday issued guidelines for Covid-19 suspected or positive cases that will be reported at hospitals following the sudden surge in the cases of Coronavirus in the country.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Two more cases of Covid-19 sub-variant were deteced in Gurugram. With this, the total number of active cases reached 10 while the authorities directed all hospitals on alert.

A total 12 such cases have so far been reported in Gurugram while two people have recovered from the infection, said an official.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: After Delhi reported its first Covid-19 JN.1 Variant, four new cases of the sub-variant were reported in Rajasthan on Wednesday. The cases were reported from Bharatpur, Jhunjhunu, Dausa and Ajmer.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Delhi has reported its first case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1, PTI quoted officials on Wednesday.

Delhi has more than 35 active cases with nine fresh infections being reported on Wednesday, an official said.

"The man was not from Delhi and was referred to a private hospital recently. He had multiple comorbidities and the Covid finding was incidental. The sample of the man has been sent for genome sequencing and a report is awaited," official told PTI.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: 87 new coronavirus cases and two deaths due to the virus were reported in Maharashtra, according to the state health department press release dated 27 December. Mumbai recorded 19 cases, whereas Pune city and Sangli district reported one fatality each.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: A fifty-eight-year-old daily wager died due to Covid-19 virus in Puducherry on Wednesday. He was suffering from Covid pneumonia and was undergoing treatment in a government hospital. He was also suffering from comorbidities. He was later shifted to the hospital for chest diseases, where he died on Wednesday.

Detailing the current coronavirus situation in Puducherry, Sriramulu said that six people were in home isolation after they tested positive for the virus.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Three new fatalities due to Covid-19 were reported from two states on Wednesday. Two from Karnataka and one from Gujarat.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said that the new variant which is assumed to be the reason behind the rising number of Covid-19 cases, is not dangerous. He also warned that the detail should not become an excuse for people to become “lax and (they must) follow precautions.” 

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Delhi Health Minister on Tuesday advised people to follow precautions during winter festival season instead of panicking. He also said that the positivity rate of the city reached 1 per cent.

Genome sequencing of testing positive for Covid-19 has been ramped up. "The report of genome sequencing is awaited," Bharadwaj added. He also said that around 400 tests are being conducted every day and the positivity rate is around 1 per cent.  

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE:  The Director of Public Health and Family Welfare,  suggested childress of age less than 10 years and senior citizens to avoid steppijng out of house amid rising cases of Covid disease.

"Children less than 10 years of age and elders above 60 years of age are advised to avoid going outdoors unless mandatory. There is a higher incidence of COVID disease in the age group of 20 to 50 years, hence people are requested to exercise due precaution while going for work/essential activities. Everybody should wear a mask when he/she goes out of the house. Face masks are the first line of defence against Covid-19. Not wearing a mask is punishable by a fine," the Director of Public Health & Family Welfare, said.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Telangana reported eight new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, according to the Office of the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare.

A total of 59 cases are undergoing treatment. The recovery rate has been stated as 99.51 per cent. To make the treatment for Covid-19 infection, the state government has notified people to visit Government COVID Hospital for treatment if they face any Covid-19 symptoms. The Government has made elaborate arrangements for testing and treatment.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: With the two new addition of Covid cases, a total of five cases of the viral disease have been reported in Odisha so far. 

“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,” Niranjan Mishra, the state’s public health director, told PTI

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: India recorded 529 fresh COVID-19 cases in a single day taking the country's active infection count at 4093, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

Three new fatalities -- two from Karnataka and one from Gujarat -- were reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Maximum cases of new COVID 19 variant were reported from Gujarat, ie 36, whereas 34 cases were reported from Karnataka, 14 from Goa, 9 from Maharashtra, 6 from Kerala, four from Rajasthan, four from Tamil Nadu and two from Telangana, reported ANI.

With the entry of the new Covid variant JN.1 in the country, Pune-based Serum Institute of India may soon be selling vaccines to prevent another surge of the pandemic. The world's largest vaccine-making company, Serum Institute is reportedly applying for license of the vaccine against the JN.1 Covid variant.

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NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul had said last week that the new variant was being closely investigated but he stressed on the need for states to ramp up testing and strengthen their surveillance systems.

Even though the number of cases is rising and the JN.1 sub-variant has been detected in the country, there is no cause of immediate concern as 92 per cent of those infected are opting for home-based treatment, indicating a mild illness, officials have said.

There is also no increase in hospitalisation rates and COVID-19 is an incidental finding in those hospitalised due to other medical conditions, they said.

Thirty-six cases were detected from Gujarat, 34 from Karnataka, 14 from Goa, nine from Maharashtra, six from Kerala, four each from Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, and two from Telangana, said sources as quoted by PTI. 

Forty more cases of the COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 were recorded, with the tally of cases of the new variant across the country till December 26 rising to 109, official sources said on Wednesday.

Thirty-six cases were detected from Gujarat, 34 from Karnataka, 14 from Goa, nine from Maharashtra, six from Kerala, four each from Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, and two from Telangana, they said. Most of the patients are currently in home isolation, they added.

With new Covid sub-variant JN.1 fueling a sudden infection surge, former AIIMS director and senior pulmonologist, Dr Randeep Guleria noted though the new variant is spreading rapidly, it is not causing severe infections and hospitalisation. On the vaccine situation, he said that since the virus is changing, we need a new jab that ‘covers a broader type of the virus’.

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The Karnataka Department of Health & Family Welfare Services on Monday 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.

Eight new COVID cases were reported on Tuesday by the Government of Telangana, Office of the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare.

A total of 59 cases are under treatment. The recovery rate has been stated as 99.51 per cent.

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 among the measures that have been decided by the Karnataka government's cabinet sub-committee on coronavirus, amid a spike in cases and detection of JN.1 infections in the state.

It 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.

The head of the WHO said Tuesday the world needs to properly prepare for future pandemics after finally ending three years of Covid "crisis, pain and loss,"

In his end-of-year message, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 2023 had marked a turning point in fighting major health challenges but had also brought "immense and avoidable suffering."

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday 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.

Karnataka has brought back 7 day isolation for covid positive. 

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Delhi's Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has said that Delhi's Covid positivity rate is about 1%. He advised people not to panic but to be cautious during the winter festivals. He also mentioned that more genome sequencing of coronavirus-positive samples is being done.

After finding the COVID-19 variant JN.1 in Himachal Pradesh, health officials told chief medical officers to test people with coronavirus symptoms and be careful. They advised anyone with cold, fever or cough symptoms to get tested. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar from Una also recommended wearing masks. Doctors said people with flu, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache or fever should get an RT-PCR test right away.

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COVID-19 is turning heads again in India as several states are urging people to follow coronavirus protocols. Here are 10 latest updates, 

Union Health Ministry report on Monday revealed that Goa reported the highest number of 34 cases in the country while a total of 63 COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 cases have been detected in the country till Sunday. In Maharashtra, nine cases were reported while eight in Karnataka, six in Kerala, four in Tamil Nadu and two cases in Telangana were detected.

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The recent spike in active covid-19 cases in India could be due to other variants such as BA.2.86 and not just JN.1 variant, experts have said.

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Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu advised people to maintain social distancing. "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," he said. 

There are 34 cases of JN.1 variant of COVID-19 in the state but the government is well prepared and nothing is “alarming”, he added. 

Hyderabad reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and no fresh infections were reported in other districts of Telangana. The total number of cases under treatment/isolation stood at 59, a Health department bulletin said.

A total of 1,333 samples were tested on Tuesday and reports were pending for 30, it said.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that there are 34 cases of JN.1 variant of COVID-19 in the state but the government is well prepared and nothing is "alarming."

"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," he told ANI.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Union Health Ministry report on Monday revealed that Goa reported the highest number of 34 cases in the country while a total of 63 COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 cases have been detected in the country till Sunday. In Maharashtra, nine cases were reported while eight in Karnataka, six in Kerala, four in Tamil Nadu and two cases in Telangana were detected.

READ MORE HERE. 

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday 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.

"The report of genome sequencing is awaited," Bharadwaj added.

Talking about the situation in Delhi, he said 400 tests are being conducted every day and the positivity rate is around 1 per cent.

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," he added. (PTI)

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: The recent spike in active covid-19 cases in India could be due to other variants such as BA.2.86 and not just JN.1 variant, experts have said.

"Based on whatever information we have, it appears that JN.1 can infect many at a time, more than other mutants. In India, the virus is present and with time it might pre-dominate. But having said that, other strains also tend to exist and can continue causing the infection," said Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, epidemiologist, former ICMR scientist and member of the government’s covid-19 task force.

“Considering that many active cases are not being registered, say those with milder symptoms, it is tough to say that only JN.1 is causing a surge. We have to wait a bit more," Gangakhedkar said.

READ MORE HERE. 

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Hyderabad reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and no fresh infections were reported in other districts of Telangana. The total number of cases under treatment/isolation stood at 59, a Health department bulletin said.

A total of 1,333 samples were tested on Tuesday and reports were pending for 30, it said.

Telangana recorded ten new COVID-19 cases on Monday with nine new infections reported from Hyderabad and one case was from Karimnagar.

No fresh fatalities due to the virus were reported on Tuesday, it said. The case fatality rate was 0.49 per cent and the recovery rate was 99.51 per cent. Meanwhile, the authorities at the state-run Osmania General Hospital (OGH) here on Tuesday denied reports in a section of media that one patient died at the hospital because of COVID-19. (PTI)

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: 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. (PTI)

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: The recent spike in active covid-19 cases in India could be due to other variants such as BA.2.86 and not just JN.1 variant, experts have said.

"Based on whatever information we have, it appears that JN.1 can infect many at a time, more than other mutants. In India, the virus is present and with time it might pre-dominate. But having said that, other strains also tend to exist and can continue causing the infection," said Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, epidemiologist, former ICMR scientist and member of the government’s covid-19 task force. Read More

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Karnataka on Tuesday 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 9.

According to the bulletin issued by the Health department, in the last 24 hours, as many as 44 patients have been discharged and a total of 6,403 tests have been conducted including 4,680 RT-PCR and 1,723 Rapid Antigen tests. Positivity rate stands at 1.15 per cent while case fatality rate stands at 2.70 per cent. (PTI)

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: 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 among the measures that have been decided by the Karnataka government's cabinet sub-committee on coronavirus, amid a spike in cases and detection of JN.1 infections in the state.

It 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. (PTI)

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: On Tuesday, the leader of the World Health Organization emphasized the necessity for thorough preparation to confront upcoming pandemics, following the culmination of a three-year period characterized by the Covid "crisis, pain, and loss." In his year-end communication, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, asserted that 2023 represented a pivotal moment in addressing significant health crises, albeit accompanied by substantial and preventable suffering.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Until December 25, there have been a cumulative total of 69 instances of the JN.1 subvariant of COVID-19 reported in the nation, as communicated by sources from the Health Ministry on Tuesday.

Out of these, 34 cases emanated from Karnataka, 14 from Goa, nine from Maharashtra, six from Kerala, four from Tamil Nadu, and two from Telangana, as per the aforementioned sources.

The overall count of active cases within the country stood at 4,170. Karnataka recorded 436 cases, Kerala reported 3,096 cases, Maharashtra documented 168 cases, Gujarat had 56 cases, and Tamil Nadu registered 139 cases, based on data from the Union Health Ministry.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Amid the upswing in COVID-19 cases in India , speaking to ANI, Dr. Shekhar C Mande , former DG, CSIR and Distinguished Professor, Bioinformatics Centre, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, said surveillance should be done not only for COVID-19 cases but also for other diseases.

"Surveillance always helps. I think surveillance is not only for SARS-CoV-2, but I think we should have surveillance for all kinds of different infections and the surveillance essentially means watching what kind of diseases are spreading, like antimicrobial resistance. In fact, you will know that JN.1 was picked up in many parts of the country from the wastewater surveillance system. So surveillance is a very good idea in any case."

"This is a variant of Omicron and this one already had more than 30 mutations in it. So all the world was watching very carefully to see whether that would spread very rapidly or not, but that particular one would not happen. But it has one additional mutation. This mutation appears to be interesting because it seems to be actually spreading faster than the parents did earlier. And therefore, WHO is calling it a Variant of Interest (VOI). It is not calling it a Variant of Concern (VOC), yet." He added

On the additional vaccine dose, he further said that more data is required: “We don't have full data yet; some people have even taken a booster and many people have had COVID. I don't think people need to worry too much.” (ANI)

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: Amid rising cases of the JN.1 sub-variant of COVID in Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar urged the public to not panic while assuring that everything is fine so far.

He further asserted that the Health Minister will update about the current status of cases in the state.

"No need to be panic about COVID. Everything is fine now. Our health minister will update," Shivakumar said.

Earlier in the day, a cabinet sub-committee meeting to address the COVID precautionary measures was chaired by Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao in Bengaluru. (PTI)

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: The total number of active COVID 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.

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: 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 added.

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."

Covid-19 JN.1 Variant News LIVE: A 51-year-old woman with pre-existing illnesses and who tested positive for Covid-19 died at a hospital in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, said an official.

The deceased, B Somakala, was admitted to a chest hospital here with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), kidney failure and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), said the official.

"As part of routine investigations, an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 was also done on her and it showed positive. For further treatment and dialysis, the patient was shifted to King George Hospital (KGH) on December 24 where she died around 3 am on Tuesday," said KGH superintendent P Ashok Kumar in a press release. (PTI)