COVID-19 Update: Chandigarh sees first case in 35 days, Delhi reporting 5-7 infections daily

COVID-19 cases in India are on rise and this time JN.1 sub-variant is increasing the number of infections. As on Tuesday, the number of active cases of coronavirus has shot up to 4,170, the health ministry said. Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported its first cases of new COVID-19 after gap of 35 days, with a 43-year-old woman from Sector 43 testing positive for the virus. The last reported positive case in Chandigarh was on 18 November. The health department of the Union Territory is preparing for any rise in number of COVID cases and has decided to get genome sequencing of all patients to help detect the variants of the virus. “We are increasing testing especially among those who have pneumonia, influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infection,” Dr Suman Singh, director health services, UT, was quoted as saying by ToI. However, the whole genome sequencing facility has not been started in Chandigarh. Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has said the national capital is seeing five to seven COVID-19 cases on average every day. Also Read: COVID-19 JN.1 Update: Cases in India rise to 69, Karnataka alone logs 50% infections; none yet in Delhi “On average, 400-500 samples are being tested every day in Delhi, and on average, 5-7 positive cases are coming; that is, the positivity is about one per cent,” Bharadwaj said. The minister also asserted that Delhi is well equipped to fight the virus resurgence. “The new cases that are coming, we have sent them for genome sequencing. After his report, it will be known whether this variant is new or old. However, the new variant is also not serious, so if there is a new variant, then there is no need to worry too much,” Bhardwaj added. The samples have been sent to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital and the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS). 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. The maximum number of JN.1 COVID-19 cases were reported by Karnataka, 34, followed by 14 cases in Goa, 9 in Maharashtra, 6 in Kerala, 4 in Tamil Nadu and 2 in Telangana. In the last 24 hours, India has recorded 412 fresh cases of COVID-19, the health ministry said Tuesday. Three new COVID-19 related deaths were reported in last 24 hours and all were from Karnataka. The toll due to the viral disease now stands at 5,33,337. With inputs from agencies