63 JN.1 variant cases detected in India, as active cases cross 4,000

The Health Ministry confirmed that 63 cases of the JN.1 Covid-19 sub-variant have been detected in India till December 24.

Goa, with 34 cases, reported the maximum detections of the JN.1 sub-variant, followed by Maharashtra with nine cases, Karnataka with eight cases, Kerala with six cases, Tamil Nadu with four cases, and Telangana with two cases.

India reported one death and 312 fresh cases, taking the number of active cases in the country to 4,054, according to data updated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare till Monday morning.

Kerala alone reported 128 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s active case tally to 3,128. Kerala accounts for 77 per cent of the national active caseload. The state also reported the only death in India till Monday morning.

The southern state was followed by Karnataka with 344 active cases, Maharashtra with 153 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 132 cases.

The Union Government has directed the states to send samples of all Covid-19 test swabs for whole genome sequencing in an attempt to step up vigil for any concerning variant of the virus.

In a letter addressed to all states and Union Territories on December 18, Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant had urged all states to implement the necessary public health measures and other arrangements to minimise the risk of an increase in disease transmission by adhering to the maintenance of respiratory hygiene.

States and Union Territory administrations had also been encouraged to ensure sufficient testing in every district, in accordance with the Covid-19 testing recommendations. Additionally, the advisory urged states to conduct more RT-PCR tests. They have also been requested to submit positive samples to the Indian SARS CoV-2 Genomic Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories for genome sequencing.