JN.1 Covid variant: 21 cases found in India, highest detected in THIS state

NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul said on Wednesday that as many as 21 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected across the country till now. “About 91 to 92 per cent of those infected are opting for home-based treatment,” Paul was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

Sources told PTI that 19 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been traced in Goa and one each in Kerala and Maharashtra. Over the past two weeks, 16 deaths related to COVID-19 were recorded, with the many of the deceased having serious comorbidities.

India recorded 614 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the highest since May 21. Meanwhile, the active cases increased to 2,311, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

VK Paul said that the scientific community in India was closely investigating the new variant. Asserting that there was no need to panic, the NITI Aayog member emphasised on the need for states to ramp up testing and strengthen their surveillance systems.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 to play spoilsport ahead of Christmas, New Year? THESE states have issued advisories for revellers

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandviya chaired a virtual high-level meeting with health Ministers of various states on Wednesday to access the current status and preparedness on COVID-19. 

At the review meeting, the Union health minister said, "It is time to work together in a "Whole of Government" approach, through closely working with each other."

Earlier, the Centre had asked states and union territories to maintain a constant vigil amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases and the detection of the new JN.1 variant in the country.

Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant said earlier that the variant was currently under intense scientific scrutiny but not a cause of immediate concern. "No increase in hospitalization rates has been witnessed due to COVID-19. The cases that have been hospitalized were due to other medical conditions and Covid was an incidental finding," he was quoted by PTI as saying.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a separate "variant of interest" given its rapidly increasing spread but said that it poses a "low" global public health risk.