Covid-19 again seems to be on the rise as the number of active cases has gone up to 1,970, with nineteen deaths across the country in December. The worst-hit state at the moment is Kerala with ten out of nineteen deaths and 1,749 active cases out of the total in the country. Seeing the rising trends, the Union Health Ministry has advised all the states to be on alert, while the health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has called a meeting of all state health ministers on Wednesday. The agenda behind the meeting would be to analyze the recent surge in the cases and how prepared are we to deal with any upcoming situation.
Measures To Determine The Current Covid Trends
Surveillance has been increased under the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) and all patients with symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) are being tested for Covid-19. Any sample that gets a positive result is then referred to Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) to determine the variant and sub-variant.
Also Read: Health Ministry Issues Urgent Advisory as BA.2.86 – JN.1 Variant Fuels
New Sub-Variant Reported In Kerala.
Kerala is seeing the worst when it comes to active COVID statistics as compared to the rest of the country. Apart from leading in terms of active cases and deaths, a new sub-variant of the infection has been reported in the state. A case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 has been detected in a 79-year-old woman in Karakulam in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala during a routine RT-PCR test.
This sub-variant was earlier detected in an Indian traveler who flew all the way to Singapore. However, no change in the trends was observed even after the new sub-variant was detected.
Also Read: No COVID Antibodies After 3 Or More Vaccinations: New Study Reveals People Most At Risk Of Infection
The Kerala health minister Veena George addressed the general public and advised them to stay cautious especially those with comorbidities. The minister has also made it clear that despite the fact they are trying to deal with it, this new sub-variant is not much of a serious concern.