Karnataka makes wearing mask mandatory for people above 60 amid JN.1 subvariant scare

The Karnataka Government has ordered people over 60 years of age those with heart and kidney diseases and those with fever phlegm and colds to wear masks compulsorily amid JN1 subvariant scareKarnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has announced that the Karnataka government will issue an order on Tuesday following the detection of the JN1 subvariant of the coronavirus in KeralaWe held a technical advisory committee meeting earlier A meeting was also held yesterday under the leadership of the chief of TAC Ravi They discussed what action should be taken in the meeting He has also discussed this with the central government We have some suggested guidelines people over 60 years of age those suffering from other diseases related to the heart and kidney and those with fever phlegm and colds should wear masks compulsorily said Dinesh Gundu RaoInstructions have already been given to make the necessary preparations and get ready in hospitals and health centres The state has also ordered more vigilance in border districts like Kodagu Mangaluru and ChamarajanagarTesting is mandatory for those suffering from breathing problems and other problems Then it will be known whether the COVID cases are surging per day Then we will decide what to do We will do more testing at the border said the Karnataka Health MinisterHowever he said that there is no need to panic as the situation is under controlIn another 23 days its severity will subside As of now it is normal in the state Prohibitive measures will only work if there are more positive COVID symptoms Currently there is no such situation No one needs to worry Dinesh Gundu Rao addedIndias COVID19 situation remains under control with an active caseload of 1828 as of Monday However one death was reported in Kerala where the JN1 subvariant of the coronavirus was recently detectedDr NK Arora the chief of INSACOG said that the death was not caused by the subvariant alone but by multiple underlying health conditions The Union Ministry of Health is in regular touch with the State Department of Health Kerala and monitors various points of entryThe deceased had severe comorbidities like heart lung and kidney diseases The primary cause of death was attributed to these conditions not solely to the JN1 subvariant said Indian SARSCOV2 Genomics Consortium INSACOG Chief Dr NK AroraOn genome sequencing in other states he said There is no cause for panic over JN1 subvariant The number of samples is less but these are being collected from all the statesDr Arora emphasised that INSACOG is closely monitoring the situation studying the epidemiology and clinical behaviour of the virusEarlier on Saturday Dr Rajiv Bahl Director General DG of the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR stated in a statement issued by the Union Health Ministry that a case of JN1 subvariant of COVID19 has been detected in Kerala as part of the ongoing routine surveillance activity by INSACOGThe case was detected in an RTPCR positive sample from Karakulam Thiruvananthapuram Kerala on December 8 2023 The sample was tested RTPCRpositive on November 18 2023 The patient had mild symptoms of influenzalike illness ILI and has since recovered from COVID19 he saidThe Union Ministry of Health is in regular touch with the State Department of Health Kerala and monitors various points of entryEarlier on Saturday ANI reported first about the Covid19 subvariant JN1 detected in Kerala which is a descendant of BA286The India SARSCoV2 Genomics Consortium INSACOG a network of genomic laboratories has been actively monitoring the genomic aspects of COVID19 in IndiaJN1 was first detected in September 2023 in the United StatesMeanwhile in the wake of the surge in respiratory diseases and the new JN1 COVID subvariant the World Health Organisation WHO said that the virus is evolving and changing and urged the member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharingThe global body also shared a video of its COVID19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove who explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be takenThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever