Kerala Health Minister Veena George assured the public on Sunday that the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1, recently detected in the state, is not a cause for concern.
The discovery was made as part of routine surveillance conducted by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), according to a senior official from the Indian Council of Medical Research on Saturday.
Addressing the media about the new variant, Minister George explained that this sub-variant had been identified months ago in Indian passengers who underwent screening at Singapore Airport.
She emphasized that there is no reason for alarm, stating, "There is no need for any concern. It's a sub-variant. It was just found here. Months ago, this variant was detected in a few Indians who were screened at the Singapore Airport. It's just that Kerala has identified the variant here through genome sequencing. There is no need to worry. The situation is being closely monitored."
While urging caution, especially for individuals with comorbidities, the minister assured the public that the new variant is present in other parts of the country as well. She expressed confidence in Kerala's robust health system, stating that there is no cause for worry in the state.
Patient detected with new variant of COVID
The case involving the JN.1 sub-variant was identified in an RT-PCR positive sample from Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram district on December 8, as reported by Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Director General of ICMR. The sample had initially tested RT-PCR positive on November 18. The patient, a 79-year-old woman, exhibited mild symptoms of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and has since recovered from Covid.
