India records 529 new Covid-19 cases, JN.1 variant tally reaches 109

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Officials on Wednesday reported an increase in the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 cases by 40, reaching a total of 109 cases across India by December 26. The majority of cases were identified in Gujarat, followed by Karnataka and Goa, a report by the news agency PTI stated.

According to the PTI report, Gujarat recorded 36 cases, Karnataka recorded 34 and Goa recorded 14. Maharashtra recorded nine cases and Kerala recorded six, with lesser numbers in Rajasthan (4), Tamil Nadu (4), and Telangana (2). Most affected individuals are currently under home isolation.

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Health officials, notably NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul, emphasised the importance of increased testing and enhanced monitoring to closely monitor the new variety. Despite rising case counts, officials point out that 92 per cent of infected people have chosen home-based treatment, indicating moderate disease.

Furthermore, there has been no increase in hospital admissions as a result of Covid-19. Instead, the virus was discovered by chance among people who were hospitalised for other reasons.

Sudhansh Pant, Union Health Secretary, has advised states and union territories to implement required public health measures, emphasising the importance of Covid-19 control efforts during the current festive season. States have been directed to improve surveillance by monitoring and reporting Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases at healthcare facilities on a district-by-district basis.

India reported 529 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of active infections to 4,093. At 8 a.m., the Health Ministry's statistics showed three new fatalities, two from Karnataka and one from Gujarat.

The development of the JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) variety in August 2023, a descendent of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola), has resulted in a resurgence of Covid-19 instances in colder temperatures. Despite this, the numbers remain much fewer than at the peak of the epidemic, when there were widespread infections and a greater death rate. The recovery rate in the country is 98.81%, with over 4.4 crore people recovering from the ailment. According to the ministry's data, the case fatality rate is 1.19%, and roughly 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccinations have been provided nationwide.