As many as 21 cases of the sub-variant have been detected across India.
Pune:
A 41-year-old man has tested positive for the new COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, health department officials said on Wednesday evening.
According to preliminary information, the patient hails from Dodamarg taluka in coastal district of Konkan region and has mild symptoms of the infectious disease, they said.
No further information about the patient was available.
The World Health Organization has classified JN.1 as a separate “variant of interest” because of its rapidly increasing spread, but said it posed a “low” global risk to public health.
As many as 21 cases of the sub-variant have been detected across the country so far, Dr. NITI Aayog member (Health) VK Paul in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Maharashtra Health Department has said that JN.1 is a sublineage of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and is causing mild symptoms in patients as it urges people not to panic but take necessary precautions.
Meanwhile, health department officials said genomic sequencing was being conducted regularly in the state.
Genome sequencing is a laboratory test that can determine the entire genetic makeup of a virus from a patient's swab sample.
Authorities in all districts have been directed to take utmost precautions and conduct surveillance for influenza-like illnesses (ILI) such as severe adverse respiratory infections (SARI) following the detection of the new sub-variant.
“They have been directed to conduct coronavirus tests on patients suffering from SARI and ILI. All districts have been directed to increase coronavirus testing,” an official said.
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