Covid-19 variant JN.1: No need to panic, says NITI Aayog member VK Paul

NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul on Wednesday asked fellow citizens not to panic about the new Covid19 variant JN1 and assured that the Centre is taking the necessary precautions to combat the new variantSpeaking to media Dr VK Paul claimed that the new variant does not cause serious illness and the 16 deaths which have been reported in the last week were the people with serious comorbiditiesWe must remember that Covid19 has not gone till now and the people need to be a little vigilant The government needs to be prepared for everything and hence the government is continuously focusing on the sequencing and surveillance work he addedCentre has requested all states to increase the tests and make the citizens aware of the protocols There is no need to panic because we all have been vaccinated Paul saidMeanwhile Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the state health ministry has had a conversation with the the Union Health Ministry over the rising number of cases and the state has been advised to maintain the essential health servicesThis variant has been here for around four months now and there is no need to panic Karnataka is the highest right now in the whole country in number of tests Gundu Rao saidHe further stated that there would be no restrictions in the stateEarlier on Wednesday amid rising Covid19 cases in five states Kerala Delhi Goa Gujarat and Karnataka Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a highlevel meeting on Wednesday with top officials and chief health secretariesThere should be no laxity in our preparedness There is no room for politics when it comes to public health The Union Health ministry is available for every support he saidMandaviya assured full central support to the states affected by the recent upsurge in Covid cases saying they were working with a whole of government approach He suggested that the healthcare officials in the affected states conduct mock drills in hospitals every three months to ensure preparedness to tackle the upsurge in Covid casesWe need to be on alert but there is no need to panic It is important to hold mock drills to ensure the preparedness of hospitals increased surveillance and effective communication with people We should hold mock drills in all hospitals once every 3 months I assure the support of the Centre to all the states he addedThe Union Health Minister also urged states to ensure that preventive measures are taken amid the prevailing cold ahead of the yearend festivitiesThe total Covid cases reported nationwide till 8 am on Wednesday was 341 of which Kerala alone accounted for 292 Delhi and Gujarat reported 3 each Karnataka logged 9 cases Telangana and Puducherry 4 each Tamil Nadu 13 and Maharashtra 11 according to data by the Union Health ministryThe total number of active Covid cases in the country is currently at 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 WelfareThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever