Amid JN.1 scare, health dept confirms one Covid positive person died in Bengaluru

One person who tested positive for Covid-19 passed away five days ago in Bengaluru, but yet to be ascertained if it was a JN.1 variant or not.

The Karnataka state health department on Wednesday said that one person who tested positive for Covid passed away five days ago in the city.

Addressing the press on Wednesday (December 20), the state health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that a 64-year-old man from Chamrajpet, whose name was not revealed by the department, was admitted to Mallige Hospital on December 14 and passed away the next day.

“He had hypertension, lung disease, bronchial asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis. He had a heart failure and went into a cardiogenic shock. He also had pneumonia and was positive for Covid,” he said.

Rao added that the department hasn't been able to confirm if it was due to the JN.1 variant.

The minister assured that there is no reason to panic about the new subvariant that has been detected in the country, but one must be alert.

“We have directed all health workers, in both government and private hospitals, to compulsorily wear masks because they will have greater exposure to the virus,” health minister noted.

Rao also said that the state has tested nearly 1,020 people for covid over the past 24 hours, which is the highest across all states.

“We intend to increase testing every day, and by Saturday, we want to test at least 5,000 people every day. All SARI (severe acute respiratory infection) cases across the state, in both government and private hospitals, must compulsorily undergo RT-PCR testing,” he said, adding that the state government will soon release an advisory directing the same. One in 20 Influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) will also need to undergo RT-PCR testing," the minister said.

He shared the central ministry’s data on the spread of the JN.1 variant, and said that nearly 20 cases of JN.1 variant have been identified after testing for Covid in the country, including 18 cases in Goa, and one each in Maharashtra and Kerala.

The minister also said that the state health department is not receiving Covid updates from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) portal, which has not been functional, and they have requested the central health ministry to fix it.