Covid variant JN. 1 detected in Kerala: Amid the recent surge in coronavirus cases worldwide, India has detected a new variant of Covid-19 disease. The Ministry of Health has shown that an infection related to JN. 1 Covid strain detected in Kerala on Sunday. Daily COVID numbers also show a slight increase across India. According to the official knowledge of the Ministry of Health, the number of daily cases amounts to 2,000.
Monday’s fitness bulletin announces that the official daily COVID figures in India have not been released today. Data on Sunday showed India recorded 335 new COVID-19 infections. While the number of daily cases recorded was 1,701, the number of COVID deaths was 5. While Kerala has reported 4 coronavirus deaths, Uttar Pradesh has recorded one covid death.
India’s overall covid recovery rate stood at 98.81 per cent, the official health bulletin stated. According to the health ministry’s official site, 220.67 crore doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered across the country since the first drive of vaccination was launched.
Kerala has shown the first case of the JN. 1 strain of coronavirus. According to the latest reports, a 79-year-old woman is infected with this new variant of Covid-19. The case was revealed under surveillance through the SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium on December 8. This variant was first reported in the United States in September 2023, while on December 15, China reported about 7 cases of the same variant. The variant is spreading around the world, according to the CDC’s tracking system. .
Like the COVID-19 virus, the JN. 1 variant is also not an easily detectable virus. Although it is more infectious and transmissible without problems, the symptoms related to JN. 1 are mild. According to Dr. Tushar Tayal, Senior Consultant for Internal Medicine at C. K. Birla Hospital, symptoms reported for JN. 1 include fever, runny nose, sore throat, headache, cough, and in some cases, mild gastrointestinal symptoms. Despite its increasing transmissibility, there is no news of an increase in hospitalizations. due to this variant
Dr. Tayal emphasizes the importance of taking proactive preventive measures to curb the spread of JN.1. These measures include frequent hand sanitization, the use of Triple-layer masks, and adherence to social distancing guidelines. Failure to follow these preventive measures could lead to JN.1 becoming the dominant strain of the circulating COVID virus.
In a report through Dr. Rajneesh Srivastava, Senior Consultant in Internal Medicine, Max Hospital, Gurugram, explained the following preventive methods:
Following the spread of the JN. 1 variant in Kerala, other southern states such as Karnataka issued an alert in the state on Sunday and initiated all precautionary methods, adding test kits, which come with RT-PCR tests, immediate antigen tests, and VTM (Viral). Means of transport). The Karnataka Health Department also introduced training drills in all hospitals to assess bed capacity, adding ICU beds, oxygen availability and medical supplies.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao asked people not to panic because the scenario is still under control. The minister said: “I told the officials to be prepared. Even if the scenario isn’t alarming and we don’t think this way, we want to be prepared. in case the scenario (Covid type) happens again. If there’s a problem, it’s corrected immediately. “