682 COVID-19 Sub-Variant JN.1 Cases Recorded In 12 States Till Jan 6; 3 In Odisha

New Delhi: A total of 682 cases of JN.1 sub-variant of COVID-19 have been reported from 12 states of India, including three from Odisha, till January 6, ANI reported, quoting sources, on Monday.

The highest of 199 such cases have been reported from Karnataka, followed by 148 from Kerala, 139 from Maharashtra, 47 from Goa, 36 from Gujarat, 30 each from Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, 26 from Tamil Nadu, 21 from Delhi, three from Odisha, two from Telangana and one from Haryana.

The source further said that 1339 samples were sent for whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in December 2023, and another 665 in January 2024. These samples were collected those infected between November 10 and December 31, 2023 and majority of them were home isolated.

According to reports, the new variant accounts for 33 per cent of the samples sequenced so far in Odisha. While the first case was detected at the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), two others were found among eight samples sequenced at ICMR laboratory Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar. Two among them were detected in Sundargarh and Khurda districts.

The state currently has 29 active cases with no new case being detected from 983 samples and 2 patients having recovered in the last 24 hours, according to data available on state’s health department website.

Since the new variant can affect people with co-morbidities or those who have suffered lung damage in previous waves more, the government has appealed to them and the elderly to remain cautious and wear face masks while going out.

The WHO 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.