JN.1 outbreak: As new cases rise, 10 things you must know about new variant

JN.1 Covid variant: On Friday, a new Covid-19 case was reported in Noida, the first in many months. The patient, a 54-year-old male who lives in Noida, works at a multinational firm in Gurugram

India has, after months, witnessed an uptick in the number of cases of Covid-19 infections. Centre and states have sounded alarm over the new JN.1 Covid variant. The cases of this new variant have been found not only in India but also in other countries like Singapore and England.

In India, cases of the new JN.1 Covid variant have been found in Rajasthan, Goa and Maharashtra. The total cases of the new variant currently stands at 26.

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Amid the rising scare around the new JN.1 Covid variant, here are 10 things you need to know:

1. On Friday, a new Covid-19 case was reported in Noida, the first in many months. The patient, a 54-year-old male who lives in Noida, works at a multinational firm in Gurugram. His sample has been sent to Delhi for genome sequencing, which will clarify if it is of the new JN.1 variant or not.
    
2. Experts suggest there is no need to panic. Talking to news agency ANI, former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said that we need to be cautious and not panic as it is a "variant of interest" currently and not a "variant of concern". A similar statement was issued by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya earlier this month.
    
3. Delhi government's Health Department has directed the authorities to send an "adequate" number of Covid samples for the RT-PCR test. The data on Covid testing is presently being maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
    
4. Several states have issued advisories asking the citizens to practice respiratory hygiene. Some, including Karnataka, have made the masks mandatory in public.
    
5. The symptoms of the new JN.1 Covid variants are mild to moderate. These include fever, cough, cold and sore throat. Some patients may experience fatigue, nausea and uneasiness in respiration.
    
6. For patients suffering from these symptoms, state advisories have said that they should maintain distance from other people, use masks and wash hands with soap for 20 seconds or use sanitiser as needed.
    
7. Dr Soumya said that as a precaution, people must avoid being in a very closed environment with very poor ventilation with infected people without a mask.
    
8. The total cases of Covid-19 infections in India now stand at 2,669. On Thursday, India added 358 new cases to the tally. The maximum of these cases, 300, have been reported in Kerala alone.
    
9. On Thursday, India reported six deaths due to Covid-19 infection. It was a seven-month high number. However, 3 of these deaths were reported in Kerala alone.
    
10. Kerala's Health Minister Veena George has assured people of the state that despite the rise in Covid-19 cases, there is no cause for alarm. "The hospitals are adequately equipped to manage virus infections," she said.