The Panoor municipality in the Kannur district issued advisories urging the public to exercise caution to prevent the spread of the disease.
Three out of every four cases in December 2023 were turning out to be JN.1. (Shutterstock)
The Panoor municipality in the Kannur district of Kerala has implemented restrictions on public gatherings and mandated the use of masks following the demise of an 80-year-old man due to Covid-19 infection.
The local authorities have issued advisories, urging the public to exercise caution to prevent the spread of the disease.
The deceased, identified as one Abdulla of Palakkandy in the municipality, succumbed to the infection on Friday, 15 December.
He was being treated for cough and breathing difficulties at a private hospital in Kozhikode, where he passed away.
This marked the second Covid-19-related death in the northern districts of Kerala within the past 48 hours: KP Kumaran (77) of Vattoli in the Kozhikode district also succumbed to the infection on Friday.
In response to Abdulla’s passing, local MLA KP Mohanan organised a meeting with health officers and municipal authority officials to discuss precautionary measures for containing the virus.
The municipality is maintaining heightened vigilance to prevent the spread, implementing decisions from the meeting chaired by the MLA.
Commencing Saturday, mask-wearing was made compulsory, and the police have been instructed to discourage unnecessary gatherings.
Health workers were launching a special drive to identify individuals with fever, and those showing Covid symptoms will be placed under observation.
Additionally, efforts are underway to trace individuals in close contact with the deceased, subjecting them to home quarantine.
Meanwhile, on 8 December, Kerala reported a case of the Covid-19 subvariant JN.1.
A 79-year-old woman tested positive in an RT-PCR test conducted on 18 November after displaying mild symptoms of influenza-like illnesses (ILI). She subsequently recovered from Covid-19.
Meanwhile, with a rise in Covid-19 cases and the finding of a new variant — JN.1 — in Kerala, the Karnataka government has decided to begin testing symptomatic patients in hospitals.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, on Saturday, 15 December, said that a high-level meeting will be held on Tuesday for further guidelines on this.
Experts from the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) are expected to be a part of this meeting.
He further instructed that all Covid-positive cases with CT value of less than 25 should be sent to the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) for whole genomic sequencing, as this would help in identifying the strain.
Tamil Nadu, neighbouring Kerala, is also ramping up preparedness to deal with any resurgence of Covid-19 in the state.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian told reporters on Friday that the Tamil Nadu Health Department had intensified surveillance in places where fever cases were reported and also increased RT-PCR tests.
He asked people not to panic and said: “Those who have tested positive have had only throat pain and cough for three to four days; there are no severe symptoms.”
As of 15 December, Tamil Nadu had 36 active cases of Covid-19, with a discharge ratio of 98.94 percent.
Among the Indian states, Kerala had the maximum of 1,144 infections with a discharge ratio of 98.94 percent, as per the Covid-19 data available on the Union government’s website.
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