MADIKERI: The Karnataka government has mandated people over 60 years of age, those with heart and kidney diseases, and those with fever, phlegm and cold to wear masks compulsorily amid the JN.1 subvariant scare.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “We held a technical advisory committee meeting on Monday. A meeting was also held the previous day under the leadership of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) chief Ravi. They discussed what action should be taken in the meeting. He has also discussed this with the central government. We have some suggested guidelines, people over 60 years of age those suffering from other diseases related to the heart and kidney, and those with fever, phlegm and cold should wear masks compulsorily”, said Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Instructions have already been given to make the necessary preparations and get ready in hospitals and health centres. The state has also ordered more vigilance in border districts like Kodagu, Mangaluru and Chamarajanagar.
“Testing is mandatory for those suffering from breathing and other problems. Then, it will be known whether the Covid cases are surging per day. We will later decide what to do. We will do more testing at the border”, the Health Minister said.
However, he said that there is no need to panic as the situation is under control. “In another 2-3 days, its severity will subside. As of now, it is normal in the state. Prohibitive measures will only work if there are more positive Covid symptoms. Currently, there is no such situation. No one needs to worry”, Dinesh Gundurao added.
India’s Covid-19 situation remains under control, with an active caseload of 1,828 as of Monday. However, one death was reported in Kerala, where the JN.1 subvariant of the coronavirus was recently detected.
Dr N K Arora, the chief of INSACOG, said that the death was not caused by the subvariant alone, but by multiple underlying health conditions. The Union Ministry of Health is in regular touch with the Kerala Health Department and monitors various points of entry.
“The deceased had severe comorbidities like heart, lung and kidney diseases. The primary cause of death was attributed to these conditions, not solely to the JN.1 subvariant”, said Dr Arora.
On genome sequencing in other states, he said, “There is no cause for panic (over JN.1 subvariant). The number of samples is less, but these are being collected from all the states”. Dr Arora emphasised, “INSACOG is closely monitoring the situation, studying the epidemiology and clinical behaviour of the virus”.
Last Saturday, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General (DG) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in a statement issued by the Union Health Ministry, noted that “a case of JN.1 subvariant of COVID-19 has been detected in Kerala as part of the ongoing routine surveillance activity by INSACOG”.
“The case was detected in an RT-PCR positive sample from Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on December 8, 2023. The sample was tested RT-PCR-positive on November 18, 2023. The patient had mild symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) and has since recovered from Covid-19”, he said.
The JN.1 subvariant was first detected in September 2023 in the United States. Meanwhile, in the wake of the surge in respiratory diseases and the new JN.1 Covid sub-variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the virus is evolving and changing and urged member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing.
The global body also shared a video of its Covid-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, who explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be taken. (ANI)