‘Every New Wave Comes in Dec’: Expert Take as JN.1 Covid-19 Variant Threatens Holiday Season
‘Every New Wave Comes in Dec’: Expert Take as JN.1 Covid-19 Variant Threatens Holiday Season
New Delhi: A growing Covid-19 variant, JN.1, has taken off this holiday season in several countries but there isn’t anything ‘alarming’ in India, co-chair at INSACOG’s advisory board, Dr Saumitra Das, told media in an exclusive interaction.
Microbiologist Das, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, said the government needs to bump up surveillance at airports and fix the system of Covid-19 testing, once again.
“There is nothing unusual in Covid-19 cases going up and nothing is alarming. The cases are mostly driven by the JN.1 variant which is a sub-lineage of BA2. 86 Omicron,” Das said. Lineage JN.1 was first found in Luxembourg and as per the latest numbers, it has been spotted in more than 38 countries.
As it is Christmas and holiday time, the movement of international travellers goes up as an annual routine. This thus becomes the time when pathogens also cross borders and screening at airports becomes important.
India detected its first JN.1 case in Kerala’s Karakulam on December 8. The sample from a 79-year-old woman had tested positive in an RT-PCR test conducted on November 18, reported news agency PTI, adding that she had mild symptoms of influenza-like illnesses and had recovered from Covid-19. The Union Ministry of Health, on December 16, initiated preparedness measures after the case was identified in Kerala.
“We must notice that every new wave comes in the month of December or in winter, starting from the first wave to the Delta wave and then Omicron.”
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