India's JN.1 Tally Crosses 1,000 Mark, Maximum Cases in Karnataka

New Delhi: India has reported a total of 1,013 JN.1 cases till Friday, according to Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). The latest addition to the list of states and UTs where the COVID-19 sub-variant has been detected, is Uttar Pradesh. Maximum number of cases have been reported from Karnataka with 214 cases, followed by Maharashtra at 170, Kerala (154), Andhra Pradesh (189), Gujarat (76) and Goa (66).

Telangana and Rajasthan have recorded 32 JN.1 cases each, Chhattisgarh has recorded 25 cases, Tamil Nadu logged 22, Delhi 16, Uttar Pradesh 6, Haryana five, Odisha three, West Bengal two and Uttarakhand one, according to the data.

These cases have been detected from the 16 states and UTs.

The Centre has asked the states and Union territories to maintain a constant vigil amid an uptick in the number of Covid cases and the detection of the JN.1 sub-variant in the country.

The states have been urged to ensure effective compliance of the detailed operational guidelines for the revised surveillance strategy for COVID-19 shared with them by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The states have also been asked to regularly monitor and report district-wise cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) from all health facilities for an early detection of a rising trend of cases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a separate "variant of interest" given its rapidly-increasing spread, but said it poses a "low" global public health risk.

The JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus was previously classified as a variant of interest (VOI) as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineages, the parent lineage that is classified as a VOI, the world body said. 

(With PTI inputs)