REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
Guwahati, Dec 30: A total of 162 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been reported in India, with Kerala having the highest count of 83, followed by Gujarat with 34 cases, according to the INSACOG's data updated on Friday.
Nine states and Union territories have identified the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant. These states are: Kerala (83), Gujarat (34), Goa (18), Karnataka (eight), Maharashtra (seven), Rajasthan (five), Tamil Nadu (four), Telangana (two) and Delhi (one), according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
Despite being classified as a “variant of interest”, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that JN.1 poses a “low” global public health risk.
The centre has urged vigilance amid rising COVID cases and the detection of the JN.1 sub-variant in the country.
Meanwhile, India logged 797 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths due to the virus on December 29, the highest in 225 days.
The active caseload of COVID-19 stood at 4,091, as per the data from the Health Ministry. Out of the five new fatalities that were recorded in the past 24 hours, two were from Kerala and one each from Maharashtra, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. The last time India recorded such a high number of cases in a span of 24 hours was on May 19, when it logged 865 new cases.