COVID-19 in India: Delhi reports 16 cases of sub-variant JN.1

Delhi has reported 16 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 with the majority of the patients recovering in home isolation, officials said on Tuesday.

The national capital had reported its first case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 last week.

According to an official, reports of 19 samples sent for genome sequencing were received on Monday. Out of these, 15 samples were detected with JN.1 variant, two with XBB sub-variant and rest with other variants, the officials said.

“The first patient had got admitted to a hospital because she was scared but she only had mild symptoms. She was discharged within a few days. The 15 patients detected with JN.1 variant are under home isolation and have no discomfort. Four of them have recovered also,” said an official.

The official said that there was nothing to worry about.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said COVID-19 cases being reported recently are mild infections and that there was no reason to worry.

The situation in Delhi is under control and there was no huge rise in cases, Bharadwaj said.

“The information received about the disease so far from Delhi and neighbouring states has suggested that the cases are mild. Some people have a mild cough and cold, and some have a mild fever. People are recovering from the disease quickly. As of now, there is nothing to worry about,” he said.

A total of 312 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country so far, with about 47 per cent of them recorded in Kerala, according to the INSACOG’s data updated on Tuesday.

Ten states and Union territories have so far detected the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus. They are Kerala (147), Goa (51), Gujarat (34), Maharashtra (26), Tamil Nadu (22), Delhi (16), Karnataka (eight), Rajasthan (five), Telangana (two) and Odisha (one), according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).

The INSACOG’s data showed 279 Covid cases recorded in the country in December had the presence of JN.1, while 33 such cases were detected in November.