JN.1 variant : Centre asks states to be vigilant as Covid cases rise
Maharashtra is taking steps to curb COVID-19 spread: Dy CM Ajit Pawar
Union health secretary Sudhansh Pant on Monday issued a letter to states and Union territories highlighting the need for maintaining constant vigil over the Covid situation.
Centre asks states to be vigilant as Covid cases rise.
Considering the upcoming festive season, Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant said, states should put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimise the risk of transmission of the disease
“Due to consistent and collaborative actions between centre and state governments, we have been able to sustain the trajectory at sustainable low rates,” he wrote.
“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,” he said.
States are asked to monitor and report District-wise Influenza-like Illness (ILI) & Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities on a regular basis including in the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal, for detecting the early rising trend of cases.
States also to promote community awareness to seek their continued support in managing COVID-19, including adherence to respiratory hygiene.
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.
The JN.1 variant (BA.2.86.1.1), which emerged recently, is considered a descendent of a sub-variant of Omicron with high potential for evading immunity gained earlier from vaccination or infection.
