COVID-19 News LIVE: Delhi reports first case of COVID JN.1, ALERT sounded

Gurugram on Wednesday detected two more cases of Covid-19 sub- variant JN1, taking the total tally of the active cases in the city to 10. The city administration have directed concerned authorities and all the hospitals in the city to remain on alert.

This is the 12th such case of a new sub-variant reported so far in Gurugram. However, the officials confirmed that two people have recovered from the infection.

Health authorities are on their toes in the national capital Delhi as the city reported the first case of a new sub-variant of COVID-19, JN.1 on Wednesday. 

India recorded 529 fresh COVID-19 cases in a single day taking the country's active infection count at 4093, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

Three new fatalities -- two from Karnataka and one from Gujarat -- were reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

Thirty-six cases were detected from Gujarat, 34 from Karnataka, 14 from Goa, nine from Maharashtra, six from Kerala, four each from Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, and two from Telangana. Most of the patients are currently in home isolation. 

Forty more cases of the COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 were recorded, with the tally of cases of the new variant across the country till December 26 rising to 109, official sources said on Wednesday.

Odisha reported two fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the coronavirus tally to five in December so far, a health department official said on Wednesday.“In November, we had registered 11 cases while this month, so far, only five cases have been detected. We are closely monitoring the situation and have instructed the districts to enhance surveillance for influenza-like illness,” Niranjan Mishra, the state’s public health director, told PTI.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said the national capital's Covid positivity rate is around 1 per cent and stressed that people should, instead of panicking, follow precautions during the winter festival season.

Genome sequencing of samples testing positive for COVID-19 has been ramped up, he said.

Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that there are 34 cases of JN.1 variant of Covid-19 in the state but the government is well prepared and nothing is alarming. "430 cases are active out of which 400 are in home isolation and the remaining are in hospital. 7-8 patients are in ICU. As of now, things are okay. We have done genome sequencing. There are 34 cases of JN.1 variant of Covid. We are well prepared. Nothing is alarming. the majority of the cases are in Bengaluru," the minister said.