No need to panic: Maharashtra health minister on new Covid sub-strain

Amid rising Covid cases in the state attributed to the new substrain JN1 Maharashtra Health Minister Tanaji Sawant has advised people to not panic saying that the healthcare system of the state was fully prepared and geared to deal with any possible situation reported news agency ANIHowever he did confirm that one patient in the state has been detected with the new Covid substrain reported ANISpeaking to reporters on Thursday Tanaji Sawant said The states healthcare system is fully prepared to deal with the new Covid variant JN1 Theres no reason for panic If people develop any symptoms they should consult a doctor and take the necessary medications They must also abide by the Covid protocols in the interest of public safety reported ANIThe state Health Department meanwhile informed that regular genome sequencing was being conducted after the detection of the new subvariant in the state reported ANIGenetic Sequencing WGS is being done regularly in the state So far only one patient with JN1 variant has been found in the state The patient is a 41yearold man from Sindhudurg All people should wear masks where necessary wash hands frequently and practice Covidappropriate behaviour the state health department said reported ANIThe department informed further that as per the instructions of the Union government a mock drill was conducted from December 15 to 17 at all secondary and tertiarylevel health institutions in the state to assess their preparedness for a fresh Covid wave reported ANIAll the districts municipal corporations and government medical colleges of the state participated in this important mock drill The review was conducted in terms of beds ICUs facilities equipment oxygen facilities medicine stocks manpower manpower training and telemedicine facilities available in the hospitals of the state the Health Department stated in a release reported ANITill December 17 1264 institutions of the state have completed this mock drill and submitted their information 655 Government Hospitals 575 private hospitals 3 Government Medical Colleges 14 private medical colleges and 5 other hospitals have taken part in this it added reported ANIEarlier on Wednesday Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a highlevel meeting amid the rising Covid cases in some states reported ANIWhile urging people not to panic the minister advocated greater surveillance checking and studious observance of protocols amid the ongoing spike in casesThe recent upsurge has been blamed on the JN1 substrain with mild fever and cough being among its most common symptomsAccording to officials the substrain is currently said to be prevalent in 3640 countries has has led to 16 deaths over the last couple of weeks reported ANIWhile most of the deceased had comorbid conditions almost 92 per cent of the patients reported to have been detected with the new strain were recovering at home the officials informed reported ANIThe total number of active Covid cases in the country as of Wednesday was 2311 with the total number of fatalities reported since the arrival of the pandemic in India at 533321 according to the Ministry of Health and Family WelfareWith inputs from ANI