Covid Highlights — 22 JN.1 Variant Cases Reported In India Till December 21: Report
Amid a rise in Covid-19 cases in various regions, the central government has directed states to intensify surveillance. Stay updated with the latest developments on Covid cases here.
The Gurugram health department has swung into action after a second case of Covid was confirmed here on Friday, officials said. All adequate arrangements have been made by the health department to check the spread of the disease, they said. The situation in the district regarding Covid is under control. All adequate arrangements have been made by the health department, said Dr Virendra Yadav, Civil Surgeon, Gurugram. According to a health official, a 42-year-old woman tested Covid positive on Friday. The health department did not find any previous travel history of the patient. The health department said the Covid patient, who has mild symptoms, is being treated in home isolation. (PTI)
Six new cases of Covid infection and one related death were reported in Rajasthan on Friday, the state medical and health department said. One patient died in Dausa due to Covid infection on Friday, a statement issued here said. According to the department, the fresh six cases took the active Covid caseload in the state to 10. Three of these new cases were reported in Jaipur, and one each in Alwar, Dholpur and Jodhpur, it said. The samples of 683 patients were taken for testing on Friday, the statement added. Meanwhile, a state-level team has been constituted for the prevention and control of Covid infection, amid a rise in cases across the country. Shubhra Singh, Additional Chief Secretary of Medical and Health Department, issued an order to constitute a state-level team for Covid management, according to an official statement issued here on Friday. Singh said the team is being formed in view of the rise in number of Covid infections in other states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. Medical Education Commissioner Shivprasad Nakate has been appointed as the nodal officer of the 'State Covid Management Committee', the statement said. This committee will carry out necessary activities in the state for the prevention and control of Covid infection, it added. (PTI)
Pune: On the preparations for new Covid JN.1 variant, Maharashtra Health Minister Tanaji Sawant says, "We have total isolation beds near about 22,445, oxygen beds 35,000, ICU beds near about 10,000, ventilators beds near about 6,500...so there is no fear. The information we received about the variant says that it's not that dangerous." (ANI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav hold a review meeting with officials regarding the COVID-19 situation, ANI reported.
A total of 22 JN.1 COVID variant cases were reported in India till December 21. No clustering of COVID-19 reported so far, all cases have mild symptoms, ANI reported citing Official sources.
The Karnataka government on Thursday constituted a four-member cabinet sub-committee headed by state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao for COVID-19 management.Other than Rao, the three ministers in the panel are Social Welfare Minister Dr H C Mahadevappa, Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil and Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar.The committee will monitor the measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, which is once again creating a scare among the masses. (PTI)
Three persons including a six-month-old baby tested positive for COVID-19 in West Bengal, officials said on Friday, reported PTI As of now, they added, it is not certain whether the trio are infected by the new JN.1 strain of COVID-19.
The child, a resident of neighbouring Bihar, is undergoing treatment at the Medical College and Hospital Kolkata (MCHK) while the other two are admitted at two separate private hospitals, they said.
The country on Friday reported 640 fresh covid infections and active cases have marginally increased to 2997 amid a surge in Covid-19 infections. Of these 328, Kerala has reported 265 cases.
Dehradun: As isolation ward and other arrangements are tightened at the Government hospital of Doon Medical College after new cases of COVID-19 variant JN.1 are found in few states.
CMS, Doon Hospital, Anurag Agarwal says, “As per the latest advisory, we need not panic. The only requisite right now is to get tested as soon as you catch the flu. We will increase testing for the new variant and will also keep updating the number of patients on the portal… An oxygen ward of 20 beds has been prepared for COVID-19 and an ICU ward of 09 beds has also been reserved for COVID... The new variant is not very different from the previous variant but those suffering from cancer, sugar, kidney and heart were advised to be more careful with this variant.”
On the new variant of COVID-19, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane says, "The central government and state government will surely tackle this by following proper guidelines..."
A resident of Noida has been diagnosed with Covid, marking the first instance of infection in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar in several months, according to officials on Thursday. The individual, a 54-year-old male employed at a multinational company in Gurugram, resides in Noida, as stated by Gautam Buddh Nagar Chief Medical Officer, Dr Sunil Sharma. The patient's test sample has been dispatched to Delhi for genome sequencing, Sharma said.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Former DG, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) says, "We need to be cautious, but we don't need to worry because we don't have any data to suggest that this variant JN.1 is more severe or it's going to cause more pneumonia, more death, so I think what we need to do is try to take the normal preventive measures that we are all now familiar with...We're all now very familiar with Omicron. So it's the same family. So not much has changed, but 1 or 2 new mutations have come up. And that's why I think WHO has said let's keep a watch on it. It's a variant of interest. It's not a variant of concern..."
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Jt Executive Health Officer, Daksha Shah says there are no cases of latest Covid-19 variant JN.1 in Mumbai.
On preparedness to tackle the disease, she says: "Yesterday, the Health Commissioner held a meeting with the deans of all hospitals on preparedness. All private sector laboratories have been asked to report all cases to BMC. There is no need to panic."
Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa says: "We are taking all precautions. We will ensure that children (in schools) are taken care of. We want to keep things at the cautious -level."
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chaired the Technical Advisory Committee meeting on Covid19 on Thursday.
India reported 594 fresh cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours taking the number of active cases to 2,669 from 2,311 the previous day, according to Union Health Ministry data. Six people succumbed to the infection with three from Kerala, two from Karnataka and one from Punjab
"New cases of Covid are being detected. The variant of interest is JN.1 which is quite infectious and has similar symptoms on infection. But, our situation now is different due to widespread vaccination and prior infection among the people," says Dr. Sudhir Bhandari, Vice Chancellor, Rajasthan University of Health Science on the new COVID variant.
Kerala reported 300 new active cases of COVID-19 and 3 deaths on 20th December, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The total number of active cases of Covid-19 in the country is 2669.
A 41-year-old man was tested positive for new COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. As per preliminary information, the patient is from Dodamarg taluka in the coastal district in the Konkan region and has mild symptoms of the infectious disease, they said. No further details were available about the patient.
A senior official of the West Bengal Health Department said that the department will continue its surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases, in accordance with central guidelines, amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the nation. "We will continue our surveillance activity as per the guidelines of the health ministry. At present, there is not a single COVID-19 case in our state. However, we are ready with the infrastructure," the official told PTI.
In view of the Union Health Ministry issuing a fresh alert for Covid-19, the Medical Superintendent of Jammu's Sri Maharaja Gulab Singh Hospital, Dr Dara Singh said, "We have been directed to be fully prepared with all necessary medications available"
Background
Covid Highlights: As Covid-19 cases rise both nationally and globally, keep abreast of all the latest developments and updates right here with ABP Live.
The resurgence of Covid-19 cases has raised alarms nationwide, with daily infections reaching their highest point in seven months. On December 20, the health ministry reported 614 new cases within a span of 24 hours. This figure marks a notable increase from the 115 cases reported on December 6 and stands as the highest since May 21.
This rise has shifted attention towards the JN.1 subvariant of Covid-19, stemming from the Omicron lineage, which was previously identified as a significant contributor to the surge in infections towards the end of 2021.
Dr V K Paul, a member of NITI Aayog focusing on health, highlighted the nation's interest in the JN.1 variant. To date, India has attributed 21 coronavirus cases to this variant, with 19 identified in Kerala and one each in Maharashtra and Goa.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, after evaluating the nation's Covid-19 situation on December 20, stressed the importance of vigilance against emerging strains of the virus. This review followed 16 recorded Covid-19 deaths in the past fortnight, with an additional three fatalities reported within the last 24 hours.
In its recent announcement, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified JN.1 as a distinct "variant of interest (VoI)," a shift from its previous designation under the A.2.86 sublineages. WHO defines VoIs as variants with potential increased transmission rates due to genetic alterations and potential vaccine evasion capabilities. However, WHO also noted that, based on current data, the global health risk from JN.1 remains low.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the Covid-19 technical lead at WHO, reassured the public, stating that existing Covid-19 vaccines remain effective against all known variants, including JN.1.
While global and national health bodies continue monitoring the situation closely, Indian health experts advise the public to remain composed. They emphasise that recent infections exhibit milder symptoms, and existing treatments prove effective.
India, having experienced two intense waves of Covid-19 since the pandemic's onset, has recorded a cumulative infection tally of 4.5 crore. The death toll currently stands at 5.33 lakh, with 2,311 active cases, according to recent health ministry data.
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