India: Multifold jump in Covid cases

New Delhi: A multifold spurt in fresh COVID cases was noted in India over the past 24 hours, with Kerala contributing the major chunk of those.

Surge in COVID Cases

A total of 423 cases were reported of which 266 were from Kerala and 70 from neighbouring Karnataka, Union health ministry data showed.

National Active Cases

Two deaths were reported in Kerala. The total number of active cases of Covid-19 in the country was recorded at 3,420.

Variant JN.1 Classification

Meanwhile, amid rising concerns over the emergence of the new variant of the coronavirus, former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan asserted that there is no need to panic currently as it is a variant of interest and not of concern.

However, she urged people to be cautious by taking proper precautionary measures.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former DG, of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said, "We need to be cautious, but we don't need to worry because we don't have any data to suggest that this variant JN.1 is more severe or it's going to cause more pneumonia, more death."

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.

Global COVID Trends

The number of new COVID cases increased by 52 per cent during the past four-odd weeks, the WHO said, with over 850 000 new cases reported during the period.

The number of new deaths decreased by 8 per cent as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 3,000 new fatalities reported, World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest press release.

(With ANI inputs)