People outside a movie theatre without masks in Visakhapatnam on Friday. The Central government has advised masking up in public places in view of a rise in COVID cases. A.P. has reported four cases in recent days.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
The detection of three cases of JN.1, a sub-variant of the SARS-COV-2 Coronavirus, in Visakhapatnam city on Friday has set alarm bells ringing, with the once-ubiquitous masks which made a silent exit over a year ago now slowly making a comeback in crowded places and social gatherings.
JN.1 seems to be spreading its tentacles fast in India, particularly in Kerala, where one death was reported. Though awareness on the use of nose masks is slowly picking up, most people seem to think that the COVID-19 threat is a thing of the past. The crowds at cinema theatres are throwing all caution to the wind, despite the renewed threat.
“The symptoms for JN.1 variant are the same as those with the previous variants, except more gastrointestinal symptoms and less pronounced fever. The RT-PCR tests can determine whether a patient is positive or negative for a new variant. However, to detect the variant, virological tests from Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) labs will be required,” says Dr. K. Rambabu, Director of Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS).
“There is no increased disease severity with JN.1 compared to other variants, based on the available scientific sources. Most cases are likely to be self-limiting and may not need supporting medication. The presently available vaccines may reduce the severity but are unlikely to be useful as boosters for JN.1 as they were developed targeting the original COVID strain,” he says.
Though the JN.1 variant is unlikely to be severe, caution is advised especially in crowded places like cinema theatres, malls and social gatherings. This is because hospitalisation due to JN 1 is going up in several countries and even in India as some deaths are being reported, of late.
“When the number of cases goes up, even low mortality rate could translate into higher number of fatalities. Wearing a mask, avoiding huge gatherings, encouraging open air meetings, maintaining ventilation in closed rooms and getting isolation in case of suspicion will go a long way in checking the spread of the virus. Increased testing and protecting those with co-morbidities are the need of the hour,” says Dr. Rambabu.
“Three samples, which were brought from private diagnostic labs in the city yesterday, have tested positive for JN.1. The samples were drawn from patients at Daspalla Hills, Madhuranagar and China Mushidiwada areas in the city,” Dr. G. Butchi Raju, Principal, Andhra Medical College (AMC) told The Hindu on Friday.
“At present, we are conducting random tests for 2% of the passengers, arriving from various destinations in the country and from Singapore as per the old guidelines. We have not received any fresh guidelines from the government, and there are no restrictions on passengers arriving from Singapore, at present,” Airport Director Raja Reddy said.