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Mumbai: Maharashtra reported its first case of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 on Wednesday after a 41-year-old man tested positive of the virus in Sindhudurg district. As per preliminary information, the patient is from Dodamarg taluka in the coastal district in the Konkan region and has mild symptoms of the infectious disease. This is the second case of JN.1 variant in India. The first case of JN.1 was identified in a positive RT-PCR sample in Karakulam of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala, on December 8, 2023.
“A 41-year-old male from Sindhudurg district has been detected with JN.1 sub variant. However patient is under observation and we are tracing his close contacts. Meanwhile we also urged citizens to wear mask and follow covid appropriate behaviour,” said Dr Pratapsinh Sarnikar, Joint Director, Directorate of Health Service, Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Wednesday registered 14 new Covid-19 cases, marking one of the highest daily counts in months. With 14 new cases reported on Wednesday in the state, the number of active SARS-CoV-2 cases has now reached 45. Of this, Mumbai has the most number of active cases with 27 patients, followed by Pune and Thane with eight cases in each district.
The sub-variant JN.1 is a progeny of the BA.2.86 variant, also known as Pirola, and is not entirely novel. Cases of this variant were first identified in the US in September, with the initial global case reported as early as January this year.
The World Health Organisation has classified JN.1 as a separate “variant of interest” given its rapidly increasing spread but said it poses a “low” global public health risk.
As many as 21 cases of the sub-variant have been detected across the country till now, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said on Wednesday in New Delhi.
Authorities in all districts have been instructed to take utmost precautions in the wake of detection of the new sub-variant and undertake surveillance of influenza like illnesses (ILI) such as severe adverse respiratory infection (SARI). “They have been told to conduct coronavirus tests on patients suffering from SARI and ILI. All districts have been told to ramp up coronavirus testing,” said an official.
India has been reporting a surge in Covid-19 cases, with 614 fresh infections in the last 24 hours. The latest Covid-19 numbers are the highest in a span of a 24-hour period in India since May 21 this year amid the spike in infections across the United States and China due to subvariant JN.1.
As per data of the Union Health Ministry, updated on Wednesday, active cases have increased to 2,311. The data, which was updated at 8 am, also showed that three Covid deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours from Kerala.
As per a Times of India report, India’s active cases count for coronavirus doubled in the last nine days, jumping from 938, as recorded on December 11 to 1,970 on Tuesday.
At present, there are 2041 active cases in Kerala, 79 in Karnataka, 77 in Tamil Nadu, 35 in Maharashtra, 23 in Goa, 20 in Puducherry, 12 in Gujarat, 9 in Telangana, 5 in Punjab, 4 in Delhi, 2 in Jharkhand, 2 in Madhya Pradesh, 1 in Uttar Pradesh, and 1 in Jammu and Kashmir.
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