Covid variant JN.1 spreading, but no rise in hospitalisations seen yet
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (Insacog), the network of laboratories set up to monitor genomic variations of the coronavirus in India, held a meeting on Friday to review the situation amid a spike in Covid-19 cases and decided to hold another meeting next week to understand the proportion of JN.1 and other sub-variants. «JN.1 is gradually spreading out, but the good news is that there is no increase in hospitalisation yet,» said an Insacog member who attended the meeting.
JN.1, a subvariant of Omicron with mild symptoms and few hospitalisations so far, has spread more in Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra, the person said.
As per the latest updates, there are 4,091 active Covid-19 cases in the country.
As the national capital reported its first JN.1 case, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi had on Wednesday issued guidelines for handling suspected or positive Covid patients arriving at hospitals.
Delhi health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj reviewed the preparations at various hospitals and instructed hospital authorities to create Covid wards in case hospitalisation goes up. Classified as a variant of interest by the WHO, JN.1 has been identified as the most prevalent strain in the US, accounting for over 44% of cases there.
The resurgence of Covid cases is being closely monitored due to concerns regarding JN.1's rapid expansion.
XBB continues to be dominant in India. The government has no immediate plans for travel restrictions, mask mandates, or even recommendations for booster shots despite a steady rise in Covid cases, a senior official in the health ministry told ET.
NK Arora, head of Covid Advisory Group, had earlier told ET that those who have received a precautionary dose don't
