Karnataka reported two deaths and 24 new cases; experts say no need to panic as available treatments are effective and the infection is mild.
Published Dec 21, 2023 | 10:31 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 21, 2023 | 10:31 PM
This latest Covid wave has been attributed to the new subvariant JN.1.
Kerala reported 300 fresh Covid-19 infections and three deaths in the 24 hours preceding 8 am on Thursday, 21 December, according to the Union Health Ministry website, taking the active cases in the state to 2,341.
Coming in a distant second is Karnataka, which reported 24 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, taking the cumulative total since the outbreak of the virus in 2020 to 40,89,174, the state Health Department said.
With Covid-19 recurring in some parts of the state, the state government has intensified testing. It conducted 2,263 tests, including 1,791 RT-PCR examinations.
There were 105 active cases in the state after 11 patients were discharged on Thursday, it stated.
Of the 24 new cases, 23 alone were reported in the Bengaluru Urban district, while the city accounted for a cumulative total of 93 active cases. Also, Bengaluru conducted the most number of tests, 1,540, compared to other districts. The Dakshina Kannada district, bordering Kerala, reported one positive case.
Of the 105 active cases in Bengaluru city, 85 people were under home isolation and 20 were in hospitals. Among the 20 hospitalised, nine were under intensive care.
The state also reported two deaths on Thursday.
The Health Department in Telangana confirmed six cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, with four in Hyderabad and one each in Medak and Rangareddy districts.
A Covid-positive individual recovered and no fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours. The Covid-19 fatality rate in Telangana stands at 0.49 percent, while the recovery rate stands at 99.51 percent.
Additionally, the Health Department conducted a total of 925 diagnostic tests, with results pending for 54 samples, a Health Department bulletin said.
Of the 358 Covid infections reported nationwide till 8 am on Thursday, 300 were from Kerala.
With three deaths reported in the state, the total number of casualties in Kerala since 30 January 2020 touched 72,059.
The number of people who were cured, discharged, or migrated in the last 24 hours after being diagnosed with the infection stood at 211. The total number of recovered, discharged, or migrated rose to 68,37,414 till date.
On Tuesday, state Health Minister Veena George said that despite the increase in Covid cases, there was nothing to be worried about as hospitals were well-prepared to handle the infection.
In an interview with South First, Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, Co-Chairman of the National Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force, revealed that approximately 30 percent of the individuals tested for influenza-like illnesses in the Kochi region tested positive for Covid within a 24-hour period.
He pointed out a significant shift from the situation from that of November, where only about 1 percent of influenza-like illnesses tested positive for Covid. However, the data from multiple hospitals in the Kochi region indicated a notable increase of 9 percent in November and a substantial rise to 30 percent in December.
Dr Jayadevan highlighted that Covid was increasingly dominating the category of influenza-like illnesses with symptoms such as respiratory problems, breathing difficulties, cough, fever, and body ache.
He said that while JN.1 has been considered a fast-spreading variant, it did not necessarily mean more cases but it has been “dominating the Covid landscape”. He also pointed out that despite an increase in fresh cases, people were being able to treat the symptoms at home.
Meanwhile, scientists said that the detection of the JN.1 subvariant and India reporting more cases were neither surprising nor worrying. They advised to adhere to existing precautionary measures.
As panic spread and Covid came under the spotlight again, experts stepped in to say there was no need to panic.
“As it happens with most respiratory viruses, including the influenza viruses, the circulating viruses keep changing. Therefore, a subvariant of SARS CoV-2 is not a surprise at all,” Chandrakant Lahariya, a senior consultant physician and public health expert, told South First.
“The SARS-CoV-2 virus is circulating in all settings,” he said.
According to official sources, 19 cases of JN.1 have been traced in Goa and one each in Kerala and Maharashtra. Over the past two weeks, 16 deaths related to Covid-19 were recorded with the victims having serious co-morbidities.
On 19 December, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified JN.1 as a separate variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86. It was previously classified as VOI as part of BA.2.86 sublineages.
