GANDHINAGAR, Dec 20: Gujarat currently has 13 active coronavirus cases, but all the patients are under home isolation, Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said on Wednesday and advised people to remain vigilant and not panic amid concern over the detection of a new sub-variant of COVID-19.
He said Gujarat government authorities carried out a mock drill across more than 5,700 hospitals to assess their preparedness to deal with any health exigency in view of the detection of new cases of COVID-19. The mock drill was conducted from December 13 to 17 at these hospitals, which included both government and private, Patel told reporters after attending a virtual meeting called by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the wake of detection of new COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1. Patel said currently there are 13 active COVID-19 cases in Gujarat, but all the patients are under home isolation and their swab samples have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain their variant. Genome sequencing is a laboratory test that can map out the whole genetic makeup of a virus from a patient’s swab sample. One of these cases was detected on Wednesday, said the minister, adding none of the patients are under treatment in hospital. Of the 13 active cases, seven tested positive for coronavirus in Ahmedabad and five of them had travelled overseas recently, said a health department official. The new COVID-19 strain, JN.1, has been classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a separate “variant of interest” given its rapidly increasing spread, but said it poses a “low” global public health risk. “There is no need to panic about the JN.1 variant of COVID-19. In patients detected with the variant, its severity was found to be low. So people should not panic but remain alert,” Patel said. During the virtual meeting, Union Health Minister Mandaviya instructed the Gujarat health administration to remain vigilant, Patel informed. The minister pointed out that during the winter season, there is usually an increase in cases of cold, fever and cough, and hence the health department has been instructed to keep an eye on the situation so that COVID-19 infections do not rise rapidly. As many as 21 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected across the country till now, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said on Wednesday in New Delhi. (PTI)
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