Covid-19: Cases of JN.1 variant rise to 22, Union Health Minister Mandaviya chairs high-level review

New Delhi: The number of new JN.1 variant of Covid-19 cases rose to 22 in India on Wednesday with Goa reporting 21 of them, sources in the Union Health Ministry said here following a high-level review meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya who took stock of the situation with state health ministers and top officials.

Sources said 22 confirmed JN.1 cases were reported of which 21 came from Goa besides the lone case from Kerala.

“India currently has around 2,300 Covid-19 cases. A new outbreak seems to be emerging as Covid-19 cases are rising in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa, which is a bit of concern. But there is nothing to panic as the virus is causing a mild disease,” said VK Paul, Member, NITI Ayog and the government’s principal advisor on Covid-19.

Even though the number of Covid-19 cases rose to 614 on Wednesday from 115 on Dec 6, officials said nearly 93 per cent of the Covid-19 cases were home-isolated indicating mild illness. “There have been 16 deaths, but all of them had serious comorbidities,” he said.

At the review meeting, Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant said no increase in hospitalisation rates had been witnessed due to Covid-19 and those who were in hospitals, had other medical conditions with Covid-19 being an incidental finding. A rise in daily positivity rate has been observed in Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka.

On the new JN.1 variant, Pant informed the ministers that the variant was currently under scientific scrutiny, but not a cause of immediate concern. No clustering of cases has been observed in India due to JN.1 and all the cases were found to be mild and all of them have recovered without any complications.

The review meeting took place a day after the World Health Organisation classified JN.1 as a separate Variant of Interest that can increase the burden of respiratory diseases in many countries. “Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low,” the UN health body said.

Paul said despite the low-risk, the Union government asked the states to remain prepared with adequate provisions of bed, oxygen supply and manpower.

Mandaviya asked officials to undertake mock drills every three months at both the central and state levels to assess the functionality of PSA plants, oxygen concentrators and cylinders and ventilators. He also requested the states to monitor emerging evidence of Covid-19 cases, symptoms and case severity to plan appropriate public health responses.