Corona update: 350 active Covid-19 cases in India, 8 new cases in Maharashtra, 3 each in Uttarakhand and Haryana, 1 in Noida
Corona update: There are a total of 350 active Covid-19 cases in India, with eight new cases reported from Thane, Maharashtra, three each in Uttarakhand and Haryana, and one case detected in Noida, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. According to government data, 10 Covid-19 cases were discovered in Thane on Friday, while 20 were found Covid-19 positive in Ahmedabad, four in Uttar Pradesh, five in Haryana, and a nine-month-old infant in Bengaluru, taking the total number of active cases in the country to 350.
Two people have died due to Covid-19 so far this year, as per Health Ministry data.
Delhi issues advisory
Meanwhile, in wake of new Covid-19 cases, the Delhi government has issued an advisory, directing all hospitals in the national capital to make necessary arrangements, including additional beds, oxygen apparatus, medicines, and vaccines. The hospitals have also been directed to send every positive Covid-19 sample to the Lok Nayak Hospital for genome sequencing, and upload daily reports on the government’s Delhi Health Portal.
33 active cases in Gujarat
According to health ministry data, Gujarat has 33 active Covid-19 cases out of the 40 detected in the state so far, while 23 cases were reported in national capital Delhi till Thursday, as per Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh.
Four new cases have been detected in UP’s Ghaziabad, out of which three patients have been kept in isolation, while one is receiving treatment at a hospital. Meanwhile, five new Covid-19 cases, including two women, were found in Haryana in the last 48 hours. None of these patients have any international travel history.
Different Covid-19 variants found among Indian patients
As per data revealed by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, one case of Covid-19 variant NB.1.8.1, and four cases of the LF.7 variant have been detected in India.
The World Health Organization does not consider these as ‘variants of concern’, but categorizes them as ‘variants under surveillance. However, spike protein mutations such as A435S, V445H, and T478I of NB.1.8.1 spread faster than other variants, and are also not affected by the immunity developed against other Covid-19 variants, according to doctors.
More than half than Covid-19 samples tested in India contain the JN.1 variant, followed by BA.2 (26 percent) and Omicron sub-lineage variants (20 percent).
JN.1 most common Covid-19 variant
First discovered in August 2023, the JN.1 is a strain of Omicron’s BA2.86, with over 30 different mutations that weaken the immunity of the infected individuals. The JN.1, which was declared as a ‘variant of interest’ by the WHO in December 2023, spreads more easily compared to other Covid-19 variants, but is not as harmful as others, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
JN.1, which remains the most common variant of the deadly virus globally, has symptoms that can last from a few days to a couple of weeks. However, if symptoms persist for a longer period, it may be an early indication of what is called the ‘long Covid’, a condition in which Covid-19 symptoms persist even after recovery.
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