Centre issues Covid advisory to states after detection of first case of JN.1 variant in India
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.
However, one death was reported from Kerala, where the JN.1 subvariant of the coronavirus was recently detected.
The Union Health Secretary highlighted critical strategies for COVID-19 control and management:
States have been advised to implement necessary public health measures and make appropriate arrangements to minimize the risk of increased transmission of the disease.
States have been instructed to monitor and report cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) on a district-wise basis in all healthcare facilities. This data should be regularly updated in the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal to detect any early rising trends in cases.
The centre has urged states ensure adequate testing as per the COVID-19 testing guidelines in all districts while maintaining the recommended proportion of RT-PCR and Antigen tests
States have been encouraged to increase the number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to the Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories. This will facilitate the timely detection of any new variants that may emerge in the country.
