New Delhi, January 3: The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) under the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded five deaths due to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours in the country. A total of 511 cases of the JN.1 series variant have been reported from 11 states until January 2, 2024.
Within the last 24 hours, 602 new cases have been registered, bringing the total number of cases to 4,50,15,136, as reported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The active caseload has decreased to 4,440, reflecting a decline of 125 since Tuesday. Additionally, 722 people recovered in the last 24 hours, contributing to a total of 4,44,77,272 recovered cases.
State-wise distribution of deaths indicated two fatalities in Kerala, where a 66-year-old male with Chronic Liver Disease, Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS), and Sepsis, as well as a 79-year-old female with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), T2DM, and Sepsis, succumbed to the virus. Karnataka reported one death, a 45-year-old male with hypertension (HTN) from Vijayanagar. Punjab also reported one COVID-19 death, a 62-year-old male with Pulmonary Kochs, Lung injury, and MODS.
Tamil Nadu recorded one death due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, involving a 74-year-old male with Interstitial Lung Disease, CAD, Diabetes Mellitus (DM), and hypertension.
Reconciliation of mortality figures is ongoing in Bihar, while Odisha reported 27 active cases on Tuesday. A total of 32,946 tests were conducted on January 2 in the country, as reported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Regarding the JN.1 series variant, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated, “A total of 511 cases of the JN.1 series variant have been reported from 11 states till January 2, 2024. Karnataka has reported 199 cases of the sub-variant. Kerala has reported 148 cases. 47 cases have been reported from Goa, 36 from Gujarat, 32 from Maharashtra.” Other states with reported cases include Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha, and Haryana.
Dr. Rajesh Chawla, Senior Consultant of Respiratory Medicine at Apollo Hospital, highlighted that the JN.1 variant spreads rapidly, being a sub-variant of Omicron. He noted that JN.1 is a mild COVID-19 virus, similar to Omicron, causing symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, fatigue, throat pain, and hoarseness of voice. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86, with the overall risk considered low based on current evidence.
