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precautionary measures. The announcement about the increasing numbers of the new sub-variant, detected in three states, came with the Union Health Ministry reporting 614 new Covid infections, marking the highest daily count since May 21. As panic spread and Covid came under the spotlight again, experts stepped in to say there is no need to panic — available treatments are effective, the infection is mild and all viruses mutate.

JN.1 COVID strain: Kerala sees spike in cases, WHO reassures efficacy of current vaccines. 10 things to know As of 8 am on Wednesday, the total nationwide Covid cases reached 341, with Kerala contributing 292 cases. Delhi and Gujarat reported 3 cases each, Karnataka recorded 9 cases, Telangana and Puducherry reported 4 cases each, and Tamil Nadu documented 13 cases.

risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low," WHO said. The development comes as the cases of Covid-19 are witnessing a sharp surge across the world including India. Earlier, the WHO asked the nations to remain vigilant against the JN.1 Covid variant and warned against the evolving nature of the Covid-19 virus.

Mint explains what the new virus is, its symptoms and efficacy of the vaccine: The new variant, experts have warned, appears to be more immune evasive and has been identified by WHO scientists as a ‘variant of interest’. JN.1 was first detected in the US in September 2023. By the end of October, it made up less than 0.1% of SARS-CoV-2 viruses, as per US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Iran’s state TV says nearly 70% of the nation’s gas pumps are out of service after possible sabotage — a reference to cyberattacks

A new strain of the (infamous) Covid-19 variant has been found. India’s first case of JN.1, a sub-variant of the virus has been recorded in Kerala. Although the state’s health minister Veena George assured that it was not a “cause for concern,” it has left people alarmed. According to reports, the sub-variant was discovered on December 16, as part of an ongoing routine surveillance activity conducted by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). It was detected in a 79-year-old woman.

health ministry on Monday issued an advisory to states in view of a recent upsurge in Covid-19 cases and detection of the first case of the JN.1 subvariant in the country. States have been asked to maintain constant vigil over the situation and report and monitor district-wise cases of severe acute respiratory infections and influenza-like illnesses. «No new variant of the virus had been picked up, there are a number of actions that need state government's focus,» health secretary Sudhansh Pant said on Monday.

Coronavirus has not been defeated completely and Covid-19 has not disappeared forever contrary to public belief. The deadly virus that caused the pandemic three years ago is back in a somewhat changed form. It is evident by the fact that the sub-variant of the Pirola strain has spread, with a rise in deaths reported in some countries including a European total of 874 deaths in the seven days up to December 4.

NEW DELHI : The Union government has advised all states to implement tighter public health measures to minimise transmission of the Covid-19 virus, following a rise in infections in some states, particularly Kerala. The first case of a new sub-variant of Covid-19, JN.1, was detected on 8 December in the southern state, raising concerns about a resurgent health risk more than two years after India’s last pandemic-related lockdown.

However, with the COVID-19 virus still circulating and its behavior adapting to the Indian weather conditions and the presence of other common pathogens, it is crucial to continue our efforts to effectively tackle the public health challenges, the Health Ministry said in a statement. India recorded 260 new coronavirus infections on Monday, with active cases increasing to 1,828, according to the latest data from Union Health Ministry.

Israeli hostage abducted from music festival found ‘murdered in captivity’ In 2022, the Gonjeshke Darande group hacked a major steel company in the southwest of the country. A cyberattack on Iran’s fuel distribution system in 2021 paralyzed gas stations across the country, leading to long lines of angry motorists. The hacking group claimed responsibility for the attack on fuel pumps.

Iran's gas stations went out of service on Monday following possible sabotage — a reference to cyberattacks, Iranian state TV reported. The report said a «software problem» caused the irregularity in the gas stations. It urged people not to rush to the stations that were still operational.

coronavirus, named JN.1, has been detected in a woman from Kerala, raising concerns about the ongoing battle against Covid-19. The Indian government confirmed the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant on December 16, marking the first case of its kind in the country.

respiratory diseases and new JN.1 COVID sub-variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the virus is evolving and changing and urged the member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing. The global body also shared a video of its COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, who explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be taken.

help prevent the spread of COVID-19, guidance that matches with what aerosol scientists say about preventing airborne diseases.“The other thing really is that if you’re sick, don’t go,” Gregson said.Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital, said there were lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that can be used in a season of heightened influenza levels.“If you’re about to go into a social situation in a smaller, enclosed space with a whole bunch of people and some of them are quite elderly or have medical compromise, you might want to rethink the space and the time for that, or spread out the visits with smaller groups over a larger time, or at least pay some attention to ventilation,” she said.Like Gregson, Saxinger said someone starting to feel like they’re coming down with something should take a rain check on the visit.“If you are going to be visiting elderly people in long term care or something, because that’s when you do that, masking remains important and people often forget hand-washing actually really does help too,” she said.While the very old and the very young tend to have weaker immune systems that are more susceptible to severe outcomes from infections, Saxinger said the H1N1 family of influenza viruses is known to produce worse for younger populations.“I just checked the hospitalized flu case breakdown by age and indeed it has flipped.

Medical experts are warning that the U.S. could face a “syndemic” winter as respiratory viruses surge and temperatures plunge.

Boris Johnson faced intense scrutiny over his handling of the early stages of the pandemic in an appearance before the Covid inquiry in London. Johnson insisted that he was not adequately warned about the severity of Covid-19 in early 2020, attributing the lack of urgency to a prevailing sense of complacency within the government. He expressed regret for mistakes made but argued that some errors were unavoidable given the prevailing mindset at the time.

Memories of the Covid-19 pandemic have resurfaced as a mysterious respiratory illness among children emerged in China, the epicenter of the earlier outbreak. Hospitals in many Chinese cities have been operating at maximum capacity the past two months, taking in more than 9,000 patients a day. The alarming scenes from China have put health authorities worldwide on high alert.

Iman Vellani, the star of The Marvels, has expressed her thoughts on a potential villain for a second season of Ms. Marvel. While the continuation of Kamala Khan's Disney+ series is yet to be confirmed, the character has garnered widespread acclaim in The Marvels, as per a report in The Direct. Having faced adversaries like the Clandestines, the Department of Damage Control, and Dar-Benn, speculation arises about Kamala's next opponent. In an exclusive interview with Iman Vellani, The Direct inquired about her ideal villain for a hypothetical Ms. Marvel Season 2. Vellani promptly suggested «Doc.X,» emphasizing that this character would «really resonate with the Gen Z audience.» In the comic storyline, Doc.X is portrayed as an artificial intelligence and sentient computer virus that engages with Kamala through online gaming, ultimately coercing Ms. Marvel into fulfilling its demands. While «The Marvels» is currently showing in theaters globally, Season 1 of Ms. Marvel is available for streaming on Disney+.

Marjorie Bloom wired hundreds of thousands of dollars into cryptocurrency on the advice of someone she believed to be a trusted confidant, little did she know that she was being trapped in a tech scam. The man claimed to be a 'fraud investigator' at PNC Bank and he persuaded Bloom that criminals, using stolen personal data, were in the process of pilfering her life savings. He convinced her to protect her money and to move it quickly and covertly. Later, she was shocked to know that the 'investigator' was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Bloom was ensnared in a 'tech support' scam. Bloom lost $661,000.

The Indian hotel industry has seen a sharp recovery after FY21 and FY22, years marred by the impact of covid-19 as people mostly did not venture out to protect themselves from the virus. Now, occupancies are rising, and daily tariffs have strengthened.