NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday issued advisory to states amid recent upsurge in Covid-19 cases in some states and detection of first case of JN.1 variant in the country.
In its advisory, the Centre urged states to maintain a state of constant vigil over the Covid situation and report district-wise influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) on a regular basis.
“In view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in some states/UTs in India and the detection of the first case of the new JN.1 variant in the country, Sudhansh Pant, Union health secretary sent a letter to states/UTs, highlighting the need for maintaining a state of constant vigil over the Covid situation in the country,” the health ministry said in a statement.
The health secretary underlined that “due to consistent and collaborative actions between Centre and state governments, we have been able to sustain the trajectory at sustainable low rates”.
“However, as the Covid-19 virus continues to circulate and its epidemiology behaviour gets settled with Indian weather conditions and circulation of other usual pathogens, it is important to keep the momentum going to effectively deal with the challenges in public health,” the statement said.
States have been advised to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimize risk of increase in transmission of the disease ahead of upcoming festivities.
All the states were encouraged to increase number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories so as to enable timely detection of new variants, if any, in the country.
A new sub-variant, named JN.1, of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has been identified in a woman in Kerala, raising concerns and emphasising the need for continued alert in the fight against the viral disease. The Centre on December 16 confirmed the presence of JN.1 subvariant of Covid-19 in a patient from Kerala, the first such case in India.
JN.1 is closely related to the BA.2.86 variant, also referred to asPirola, which has been detected in the US and China recently. As per the government, sample of a Covid positive patient from Thiruvananthapuram came positive for JN.1 on December 8 as part of the ongoing routine surveillance.
In its advisory, the Centre urged states to maintain a state of constant vigil over the Covid situation and report district-wise influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) on a regular basis.
“In view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in some states/UTs in India and the detection of the first case of the new JN.1 variant in the country, Sudhansh Pant, Union health secretary sent a letter to states/UTs, highlighting the need for maintaining a state of constant vigil over the Covid situation in the country,” the health ministry said in a statement.
The health secretary underlined that “due to consistent and collaborative actions between Centre and state governments, we have been able to sustain the trajectory at sustainable low rates”.
“However, as the Covid-19 virus continues to circulate and its epidemiology behaviour gets settled with Indian weather conditions and circulation of other usual pathogens, it is important to keep the momentum going to effectively deal with the challenges in public health,” the statement said.
States have been advised to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimize risk of increase in transmission of the disease ahead of upcoming festivities.
All the states were encouraged to increase number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories so as to enable timely detection of new variants, if any, in the country.
A new sub-variant, named JN.1, of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has been identified in a woman in Kerala, raising concerns and emphasising the need for continued alert in the fight against the viral disease. The Centre on December 16 confirmed the presence of JN.1 subvariant of Covid-19 in a patient from Kerala, the first such case in India.
JN.1 is closely related to the BA.2.86 variant, also referred to asPirola, which has been detected in the US and China recently. As per the government, sample of a Covid positive patient from Thiruvananthapuram came positive for JN.1 on December 8 as part of the ongoing routine surveillance.