India: Advisory issued to states amid recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases, new variant concerns

Indian authorities on Monday (Dec 18) issued an advisory to the states to stay alert amid an alarming rise of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases across the nation. 

The Union Health Ministry data on Monday revealed that India recorded 260 new Covid infections in the last 24 hours. 

Centre has urged all states to maintain a state of constant vigil over the current Covid situation, which has started causing panic among people. 

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The authorities have asked the states to report and monitor district-wise Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases on a regular basis. 

States have also been advised to ensure adequate testing including a higher number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG laboratories. 

The advisory mentioned that the states were advised to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimise the risk of Covid. 

It also asked the states to ensure effective compliance with the detailed operational guidelines for the revised surveillance strategy for Covid as shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

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Watch: India on alert, Govt issues advisory as Kerala detects new Covid variant 

JN.1 variant 

The advisory comes just a few days after the first case of the new JN.1 variant was detected in India. The variant was reported in the southern state of Kerala while the authorities were conducting routine surveillance as part of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). 

Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of the ICMR, said that the case was detected on December 8 in an RT-PCR positive sample from Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram district. 

According to the doctor, the 79-year-old patient had mild Influenza-like symptoms and she is better now. 

(With inputs from agencies)