Amid the emergence of the new JN.1 sub-variant in India, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj urged the public to exercise precautions during the winter festival season, as reported by the news agency PTI on December 26.
Bharadwaj pointed out that Delhi\’s COVID positivity rate is approximately 1 percent, emphasizing the intensified genome sequencing of samples testing positive for COVID-19. He mentioned that the results of the genome sequencing are awaited.
Concerning the COVID-19 situation in Delhi, Bharadwaj highlighted the daily conduct of 400 tests with a positivity rate of around 1 percent. He reassured the public that the new JN.1 sub-variant of the Omicron strain is not life-threatening.
Acknowledging that new variants are not considered dangerous, Bharadwaj urged people not to become complacent and to adhere to precautions. He stressed the importance of caution during the festival season, advising against panic and dispelling the notion that the virus is spreading rapidly and causing fatalities.
Official sources reported that with six additional samples testing positive for JN.1, the total number of infections attributed to the new COVID-19 sub-variant in the country has reached 69. They noted that most of these patients are in home isolation, and there has been no significant increase in hospitalization rates.
On Tuesday, India recorded a single-day increase of 412 fresh COVID-19 cases, bringing the active caseload to 4,170, according to the Union Health Ministry. The JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) variant, which emerged in Luxembourg in August, is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of SARS-CoV-2.