Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said the national capital's Covid positivity rate is around 1 per cent and stressed that people should, instead of panicking, follow precautions during the winter festival season.
Genome sequencing of samples testing positive for COVID-19 has been ramped up, he said. "The report of genome sequencing is awaited," Bharadwaj added. Talking about the situation in Delhi, he said 400 tests are being conducted every day and the positivity rate is around 1 per cent.
Bharadwaj reiterated that the new JN.1 sub-variant of the Omicron strain is not life-threatening. "The new variants are not dangerous but people should not become lax and (they must) follow precautions. People should not panic and think that the virus is spreading and people are dying. But people should be cautious during this time of the festival season," he added.
With six more samples testing positive for JN.1, the number of infections of the new COVID-19 sub-variant reported in the country has risen to 69, official sources said on Tuesday. Most of these patients are in home isolation and there has been no increase in hospitalisation rates, they said.
India recorded a single-day rise of 412 fresh COVID-19 cases while the active caseload has risen to 4,170, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday. The JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) emerged in August in Luxembourg and is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of SARS-CoV-2.
