The WHO designated the JN.1 variant of Covid-19 as a distinct 'variant of interest' due to its ability to rapidly proliferate.
This latest Covid wave has been attributed to the new subvariant JN.1.
Andhra Pradesh has also reported 29 cases of the JN.1 variant of Covid-19 as of Friday, 5 January. India, overall, has reported a total of 438 cases of the JN.1 variant since November 2023, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
Kerala has reported the highest number of JN.1 cases in India at 154, followed by Maharashtra (87), Goa (51), Gujarat (34), Rajasthan (32), Tamil Nadu (22), Delhi (16), Karnataka (8), Odisha (3), and Telangana (2).
The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the SARS-CoV-2 subvariant JN.1 as a distinct “variant of interest” (VOI) from its original lineage BA.2.86 due to its rapid proliferation.
The earliest known case of the JN.1 variant emerged in Kerala on 10 November, when a male patient tested positive for Covid-19, prompting his samples to undergo genomic sequencing.
On Friday, India recorded 761 fresh Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths due to the viral disease, according to data on the Union Health Ministry website.
The number of active Covid-19 cases in the country came down marginally to 4,334 from 4,423 on Thursday, the data updated at 8 am on Friday showed.
Karnataka reported 298 fresh cases, Kerala reported 153 fresh cases, Tamil Nadu (34), Andhra Pradesh (17) and Telangana (5) cases.
Kerala has the highest number of active cases at 1,249, followed by Karnataka at 1,240, Maharashtra at 914, Tamil Nadu at 190, and Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh at 128 each.
Of the 12 fresh deaths, five were reported from Kerala, four from Karnataka, two from Maharashtra, and one from Uttar Pradesh, the data stated.
The number of daily cases was in double digits till 5 December but it began to rise again amid cold weather conditions and the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant.
The daily numbers were in lakhs at the peak of the pandemic, which began in early 2020. More than 4.5 crore people have been infected and over 5.3 lakh have died across the country in four years.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease stands at over 4.4 crore with a national recovery rate of 98.81 per cent, the ministry’s website stated.
According to the website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered so far in the country.
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