A Covid isolation ward set up at the K C General hospital in Bengaluru.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Karnataka has reported three Covid deaths and 34 cases attributed to JN.1, a new subvariant of the novel coronavirus, the health department announced on Monday.
These are the first confirmed cases and deaths caused by the new virus strain that's spreading fast and has been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a "variant of interest".
While experts had predicted that the increasing number of Covid cases indicated that the subvariant had entered Karnataka, the genomic sequencing reports confirmed the prevalence of the JN.1 subvariant only on Monday.
With 20 cases and two deaths attributed to JN.1, Bengaluru has the highest number of cases, followed by Mysuru and Mandya, which recorded four and three cases, respectively. One active case and one death were reported from Ramanagara. Chamarajanagar, Kodagu and Bengaluru Rural reported one case each of JN.1.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the prevalence of the new strain was expected but the situation was not alarming.
"It's not a surprise. Given the situation across the country, this was expected. But there is nothing to worry about because the virus is not severe. However, the prevalence data will help us determine the future course of action,” he said.
Asked if the health department was planning to take more steps to prevent the spread of the virus, Rao said that the situation did not call for stringent measures. He added that a cabinet sub-committee constituted to monitor the Covid situation in the state would meet on Tuesday.
“For now, there is no need to curb gatherings or take similar measures. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has suggested some measures. I will present them before the cabinet sub-committee, which will decide if we need to put in place any more measures,” Rao said.
TAC Chairman Dr Ravi K echoed him, saying it was natural for the virus to mutate and that the new strain was expected. "JN.1 is not severe and there is no need to panic,” he said.
Following the rise in the number of cases in Kerala and the emergence of the new subvariant, Karnataka sent 192 samples for genomic sequencing. While the results of 60 samples were declared on Monday, the remaining results are expected by Wednesday.
Over 100 Covid cases for third straight day
The state has reported 125 new Covid cases, as per the bulletin released on Monday.
As many as 3,155 tests were conducted and the positivity rate stood at 3.96%. The state now has a total of 436 active Covid cases. Of the 436 patients, 400 are under home isolation, including 29 admitted to general beds and seven treated in the ICU.