Covid-19 update: 61 new cases reported in Maharashtra

Sixty-one new cases were recorded in the state on Monday, as per an official update on COVID-19 from the Public Health Department of Maharashtra.
The department also reported that 70 patients were discharged on the same day. The recovery rate in the state was recorded at 98.17 per cent while the case fatality rate stood at 1.81 per cent.

A total of 2728 COVID tests were conducted in the state on Monday, which included 1439 first RT-PCR tests and 1305 RAT tests. The positivity rate for the day was 2.23 per cent. As of today, 250 patients have been infected with the JN.1 variant in the state.

Meanwhile, according to sources, there were a total of 682 cases of JN. 1 sub-variant of COVID-19 has been reported from 12 states across the country as of January 6.

199 cases were reported in Karnataka, 148 in Kerala, 139 in Maharashtra, 47 in Goa, 36 from Gujarat, 30 each from Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, 26 in Tamil Nadu, 21 in New Delhi, 3 in Odisha, 2 in Telangana and one in Haryana.

As per the sources, 1339 samples were sent for whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in December 2023, while 665 samples were sent in January 2024.

These samples were collected between November 10 and December 31, 2023. The majority of the cases were home-isolated.

1.JN.1 is a Variant of Interest (VOI) that is under intense scientific scrutiny.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage, BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence.

Both the central and state governments are keeping a close watch on the new Omicron subvariant JN.

Meanwhile, India recorded 605 fresh COVID-19 cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the official data.The active cases have increased to 4,002, while the country's overall COVID case tally stands at over 4.5 crore (4,50,18,792).

The death toll was recorded at 5,33,396 with four new deaths--two from Kerala and one each in Karnataka and Tripura--reported in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease has gone up to 4,44,81,341, an increase of 648 since Sunday morning.

In Kerala, a 70-year-old male with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and an 81-year-old male with T2DM and HTN, and in Karnataka, a 48-year-old male with CA and TB died, while one person in Tripura succumbed to COVID.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) reported that 11,838 doses of the vaccine had been administered in the country till January 7.

The data is a compilation of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (National Centre for Disease Control), media bulletins and websites of various states at 8 am on January 4.