'Ramp-up testing, send samples for sequencing': Centre writes to states as Covid-19 variant JN.1 detected in Kerala

The Centre on Monday issued an advisory to states in the wake of a recent upsurge in Covid cases and the detection of the first case of the JN.1 variant in India. In a letter to the health secretaries of all states, the Union Ministry of Health asked the states to report and monitor district-wise SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Illness) and ILI (Influenza-like Illness) cases regularly.

Also read: 'Wear mask at airports': Singapore issues travel advisory as Covid cases surge due to JN.1

The states have been advised to ensure adequate testing, including a higher number of RT-PCR tests, and send positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG laboratories. "States were encouraged to increase the number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories to enable timely detection of new variants, if any, in the country," said Sudhansh Pant, Union Health Secretary.

Covid cases have surged in some countries including Singapore due to a new variant JN.1. In India, one case of this variant has been detected in a 79-year-old woman from Kerala. The case was detected in an RT-PCR positive sample from Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram on December 8, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of the ICMR, said.

The JN.1 variant is driving cases in Singapore, which recorded a sharp rise in infection cases in the first week of December. The island country saw a jump of about 24,000 cases to 56,043 from December 3 and 9 compared to 32,035 reported in the previous week.

The average daily Covid hospitalisations also rose to 350 from 225 the week before, and the average daily Intensive Care Unit (ICU) cases increased to nine cases compared to four cases in the previous week, Singapore's Ministry of Health said in its latest update.

 "Cases infected by JN.1, a sublineage of BA.2.86, currently account for the vast majority of the COVID-19 cases in Singapore," the health ministry of the island country said. It, however, said that there was currently no clear indication that BA.2.86 or JN.1 were more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other circulating variants.