COVID-19 JN.1 Update: Cases in India rise to 69, Karnataka alone logs 50% infections; none yet in Delhi

COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 has infected six more people in India, increasing the number of cases of the new variant of the virus in the country to 69. A report by ANI quoted sources saying maximum number of JN.1 cases have been reported from Karnataka where 34 people have been infected by the COVID-19 subvariant. As many as 14 cases have been logged by Goa, 9 from Maharashtra, 6 from Kerala, 4 from Tamil Nadu and 2 from Telangana. With the cases of JN.1 increasing in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has urged the states and Union Territories to ensure effective compliance of operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy for COVID-19 that has been shared with them by the ministry. For the early detection of rising trend of JN.1 COVID-19 sub-variant infections, the states have asked to monitor and report district-wise cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) in all health facilities regularly. ‘No cause of immediate concern’ The report report by PTI quoted officials further saying even though the number of cases is rising and the JN.1 sub-variant has been detected in India, there is no cause of immediate concern as 92 per cent of those infected are opting for home-based treatment, indicating a mild illness. They further said there has also been no increase in hospitalisation rates and COVID-19 is an incidental finding in those hospitalised due to other medical conditions. Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant, last week, addressed a letter to states and UTs and underlined the critical COVID-19 control and management strategies considering the upcoming festive season. He also advised them to put in place requisite public health measures to minimise the risk of transmission. The JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1), emerged in August 2023 in Luxembourg and is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of SARS COV2. With inputs from agencies