NEW DELHI, Dec 20
Covid-19 cases are on the rise in India, with the country recording 614 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, prompting the Union Health Minister to direct states to monitor emerging strains. This is the highest number of new cases detected since May 21. The comes even 21 cases of the JN.1 sub-variant have been detected in Goa, Kerala and Maharashtra.
Maharashtra, apart from confirming one case of the JN.1 sub-variant, has also reported 14 new Covid-19 cases as of Tuesday.
As per the latest Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am Wednesday, India now has 2,311 active cases. Three new deaths have been reported from Kerala, taking the overall death toll to date to 5.33 lakh and the Covid case tally to 4.50 crore. Kerala has recorded the highest spike in total active cases, with 292 new cases in the past 24 hours. This is followed by Tamil Nadu (13 new cases), Maharashtra (11 new cases), Karnataka (9 new cases), Telangana and Puducherry (4 new cases), Delhi and Gujarat (3 new cases), and Goa and Punjab (1 new case), as per ministry data.
20 cases of JN.1 found
Meanwhile, Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) data showed that 20 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been found across the country. Of these, 18 have been traced in Goa and one each in Kerala and Maharashtra.
JN.1, which was earlier classified as a variant of interest (VOI) as part of the BA.2.86 sublineages by the World Health Organisation, was classified a separate “variant of interest” on Tuesday due to its spread. However, the WHO assured that it is still registered “low” on the global public health risk scale.
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 20, 2023 “Today, a review meeting was held with health ministers and senior officials of all the states and UTs of the country regarding preparedness related to respiratory illnesses (including COVID-19) and public health. In the meeting, all the states expressed a positive outlook for better implementation of health facilities,” he said on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“We need to be on the alert but there is no need to panic,” he added. The minister has directed officials to strengthen the surveillance system for whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants through the INSACOG network and ensure timely detection of newer variants.
Indore man, woman infected with COVID after return from Maldives Two persons of a family who returned to their hometown Indore from Maldives were found to be infected with coronavirus and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain the variant, a health official told agencies.
The cases were reported in Madhya Pradesh’s financial capital amid an uptick in the viral infection in some states with the arrival of the new JN.1 variant of COVID-19 in the country. Dr Amit Malakar, nodal officer of the Indore district unit of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), said the viral disease was contracted by a 33-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man.
No need to panic but remain vigilant: Gujarat Health Minister
Amid concern over the detection of a new sub-variant of COVID-19, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel advised people to remain vigilant and not panic, and said the state currently has 13 active cases of coronavirus. The new COVID-19 strain, JN.1, has been classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a separate “variant of interest” given its rapidly increasing spread, but said it poses a “low” global public health risk. Talking to reporters here, Patel said currently there are 13 active COVID-19 cases in Gujarat, and their swab samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain their variant. None of these patients are under treatment in hospital, he said. JN.1 Covid variant: Experts allay fears, cite low public health risk. As panic spread and Covid came under the spotlight again, experts stepped in to say there is no need to panic – available treatments are effective, the infection is mild and all viruses mutate.
“As it happens with most respiratory viruses, including the influenza viruses, the circulating viruses keep changing. Therefore, a sub-variant of SARS CoV-2 is not a surprise at all,” Chandrakant Lahariya, a senior consultant physician and public health expert, told agencies.
Singapore on alert
Singapore continues to be on alert though the number of infections seems to have plateaued for now. The Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) had reported a 75 per cent jump in cases last week, registering 56,043 cases as compared to the 32,035 cases that were recorded in the previous week.
However, the latest report in the local The Straits Times paper said that the seven-day moving average of cases has gone down slightly from 7,870 on Dec 12 to 7,730 on Dec 17. Experts said that people, especially the elderly and the vulnerable, should continue to avoid crowded spaces and use facemasks to keep infections at bay.
“The current wave is what we should expect of endemic Covid-19, just like we see with endemic influenza and all the other common respiratory infections. There’s no more reason to worry about the Covid-19 wave than about similar influenza waves in the past. But just because we should not be consumed by anxiety, it doesn’t mean we should do nothing at all,” said Alex Cook, Associate Professor of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
