Manipur reports first case of JN.1 sub-variant of COVID-19

Manipur reported a fresh case of COVID19 after a prolonged period without new infections The infected individual who hails from Paomata in Senapati district had travelled from Delhi to Dimapur by air and subsequently from Dimapur to Senapati by roadThe exact virus variant remains undetermined as samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain more detailsAuthorities are closely monitoring the situation to prevent any potential spread of the virusThe surge in COVID19 cases has become a new concern in the country with the emergence of subvariant JN1 and various states reporting fresh casesAccording to Union Health Ministry data India in the last 24 hours recorded 692 fresh cases of Covid19 The active caseload increased by four reaching 4097The official data stated that Six deaths were reported in the last 24 hours two in Maharashtra and one each in Delhi Karnataka Kerala and West BengalSince the outbreak of coronavirus in January 2020 the total count has reached 45010944 The total death toll in India has risen to 533946Amid the rise in COVID19 cases due to the JN1 subvariant in various states after AIIMS Safdarjung Hospital in the national capital has also reserved beds for patients and made other arrangements including oxygen and testingThe hospital administration has reserved 50 beds for isolations and 9 ICU beds Apart from this complete arrangements have also been made in the hospital regarding oxygen PPE kits and COVID testingSenior pulmonologist and former Safdarjung Hospital HOD Dr Neeraj Gupta said JN1 is a variant of Omicron It is a very mild virus The only advantage this virus has because of this mutation is that it crosses our immune barriers and is able to infect us with a normal infection Like any viral infection this is also mild it is not of a very severe nature and we are not expecting any admissions or higher admission ratesHe further said that normally patients with comorbidities or any severe condition that decreases the immune system are going to have more morbidity which may lead to mortalityWe had one patient of Covid which was rapid antigen positive when the patient got admitted and now the patient is negative so we dont really know whether its genuine or not but we are testing all the patients who are suspected of Covidlike symptoms and still now we have not detected any Dr Gupta saidThe World Health Organization WHO recently classified JN1 as a variant of interest distinct from its parent lineage BA286 However the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN1 remains low based on current evidenceThis 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