New Delhi: India has logged 145 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 till December 28, news agency ANI reported citing official sources. The samples were collected between November 21 and December 18. Of the total cases, highest number of infections, with 41 JN.1 cases were reported from Kerala. However, majority of these patients are on isolation at home, the official sources told the news agency.
Meanwhile, India clocked 797 new cases, the highest single-day spike in 225 days, in the last 24 hours. With the fresh cases, the active caseload reached 4,091, according to health ministry data. The country had reported 865 cases on May 19.
Five new Covid-related fatalities, two from Kerala and one each from Maharashtra, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, were reported during this period.
The number of daily infections had dropped to double-digits till December 5. However, the number of cases has seen an uptick again after the emergence of the new sub-variant, cold weather conditions and festivities.
Till the onset of the pandemic in 2020, a total of 4.5 crore people have ben infected and 4.4 crore have recovered, taking the national recovery rate to 98.81 per cent. A total of 5.3 lakh people died due to Covid during this period, as per health ministry data.
With the recent surge and festivities around, experts have advised people with comorbidities and the elderly to avoid crowded places and wear masks, news agency PTI reported. However, they asserted that there was no need enforce public health measures right away.
They also urged the people not to panic and said that viral respiratory illnesses normally see a spike during winter months and the pollution season, PTI reported.
“We are seeing more influenza cases and H1N1 patients where there is serious lung involvement. The Covid cases that we have seen at our hospital are those where the finding of the infection has been incidental,” PTI quoted Sumit Ray, medical director and critical care head at Holy Family Hospital, as saying.