In the wake of detection of JN.1 COVID variant in the country, Maharashtra Minister Sanjay Bansode instructed health officials to ensure the availability of ventilators, oxygen cylinders and other necessary equipment at the government hospitals. In a meeting in Latur on Saturday, Bansode asked the health department to take precautionary measures and ensure that all necessary equipment and medicines at all government-run facilities are adequately available.
Collector Varsha Thakur-Ghuge, chief executive officer Anmol Sagar, superintendent of police Somay Munde, municipal commissioner Babasaheb Manohare and other senior officials attended the meeting.
India has so far reported 22 cases of JN.1 variant of COVID till December 21. The JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) emerged in August in Luxembourg and is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of SARS COV2.
COVID rise in India
According to the Union Health Ministry’s data on Sunday (December 24), India has recorded a single-day rise of 656 COVID infections while the active cases have increased to 3,742.
"The administration should ensure that necessary equipment and medicines are available at tehsil health centres. The condition of oxygen plants should also be checked," Bansode said.
He directed the officials to complete the construction of primary health centres and other health institutions in the district soon and also ordered to take necessary steps to make them functional.
Considering the emergence of the new variant, testing kits have been made available to check symptomatic patients, district health officer Dr Vadgave said.
Fifty beds are reserved for new cases in Vilasrao Deshmukh Government Medical College, and a mock drill was conducted to inspect ventilators and oxygen facilities, a health official said.
Maharashtra reports 50 new COVID-19 cases; nine of them JN.1 infections
Maharashtra on Sunday reported 50 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections since the beginning of the spread of novel coronavirus to 81,72,135 nearly three years ago, said a daily bulletin by the health department.
Of the fresh cases, nine were caused by JN.1, increasing the number of infections tied to the new sub-variant in the state to 10, it said.
The JN.1 patients include five from Thane city, two from Pune city, and one each from a rural pocket of Pune district, Akola city and Sindhudurg district. One patient from Pune had travelled to the US, the bulletin said.
All the JN.1 patients have recovered, it said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified the new strain as a separate “variant of interest” given its rapidly increasing spread but said that it poses a “low” global public health risk.
Even though the number of cases is rising and the JN.1 sub-variant has been detected in the country, there is no cause of immediate concern as 92 per cent of those infected are opting for home-based treatment, indicating mild illness, officials had said earlier.
Those suffering from cold, cough, or fever should maintain distance from other people and use masks and wash their hands with soap or use sanitiser, according to doctors.
Maharashtra has so far tested 8,75,65,093 samples for COVID-19, of which 81,72,135 were found to be positive. As many as 80,23,418 patients have been discharged so far, the bulletin added.
According to the Union health ministry’s updated data on Sunday, the country saw a single-day rise of 656 COVID-19 infections while the active cases have increased to 3,742.
In May, following a sustained decline in the trajectory of coronavirus cases, hospitalisations and deaths, and high levels of population immunity to SARS-CoV2, the WHO had declared that COVID-19 no longer constituted a public health emergency of international concern.
(With PTI inputs)
