Telangana government issues alert to all hospitals on JN.1 Covid sub-variant

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 19 : The Telangana government has issued an alert to all hospitals in the state regarding the new JN.1 sub-variant of coronavirus and has also issued an advisory in this regard.
"JN.1 is a subvariant of Omicron. There were many cases in Kerala. Our state government has issued an alert to all hospitals in the state. If there are any cases of influenza-like illness or severe acute respiratory illness we need to monitor them, increase their testing, keep them in isolation wards, wear masks and keep medication ready," Dr M Raja Rao, Additional Director of Medical Education (DME) and Superintendent of Gandhi Hospital in Telangana said speaking to ANI.
Rao said that the Gandhi Hospital is well-equipped to deal with the new sub-variant of coronavirus and there is no need to worry.
"There are no cases of JN.1 variant in Telangana and usually after the pandemic, we get one or two cases in a week here at Gandhi Hospital. Today no cases were reported. Even if cases of this variant are reported we are ready for treatment whether in terms of beds, medication, or equipment. There is no need to worry," the Additional DME said.
Appealing people to exercise caution, he said, "People should take care, especially people with comorbidities, elderly people above 65 years, children, pregnant women, patients with diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems, kidney problems- among these people the severity of the virus is more. So when they are going to crowded places they should wear masks, maintain hand hygiene and social distancing. This will ensure less spread from person to person. In overcrowded places wear masks, especially elderly people. This will ensure less spread."
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government is on high alert regarding the new JN.1 sub-variant of coronavirus and has issued an advisory in this regard.
The Karnataka government has ordered people over 60 years of age, those with heart and kidney diseases, and those with fever, phlegm, and colds to wear masks compulsorily amid the JN.1 subvariant scare.
One death was reported in Kerala, where the JN.1 subvariant of the coronavirus was recently detected. JN.1 was first detected in September 2023 in the United States.
In the wake of the surge in respiratory diseases and the new JN.1 COVID sub-variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the virus is evolving and changing and urged the member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing.