At 614, single-day Covid case count is at a 7-month high

New Delhi: India on Wednesday recorded 614 new cases of Covid-19 - the highest in seven months. While the number has increased more than five-fold in two weeks, these are mostly mild cases and do not require hospitalisation.

The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (Insacog), the network of laboratories set up to monitor genomic variations of the coronavirus, has so far found 21 cases of infection with the JN.1 subvariant, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared as a "variant of interest". Twenty of the cases with the JN.1 strain were found in Goa and one in Kerala, where it was detected first in the country on December 8. The dominant cause of the infections continues to be the XBB subvariant of Omicron, Insacog data suggested.

Insacog shared the findings with union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday, when he held a meeting with state ministers and officials to review the current Covid situation and the preparedness of the public health system for surveillance, containment and management of the disease.

"Goa is feeling the pinch due to international tourists, as all cases from Goa of JN.1 are local with no history of travel," said a person in the know. An Insacog member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said JN.1 has not been detected in sewage surveillance, indicating that there are no wide-scale infections. JN.1 is seen as the main cause of new Covid cases in the US. It has also been reported from China and Singapore. On Tuesday, while declaring JN.1 a variant of interest, WHO said it did not pose much threat to public health.

In India, a rise in daily positivity rate has been observed in a few states - Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka.

"Covid is not over yet," said VK Paul, member, Niti Aayog. "The current outbreak has not changed the severity of the disease. It's not a serious disease, with more than 90% of people recovering at home." During Wednesday's meeting called by minister Mandaviya, health secretary Sudhansh Pant made a presentation on the global situation of Covid and the domestic scenario. While the number of active Covid cases in India is significantly small, compared with the global scenario, there has been a steep rise in cases in the last two weeks - from 115 on December 6 to 614 on Wednesday - he said.

As much as 92.8% of the cases are home-isolated, indicating mild illness. No increase in hospitalisation rates has been witnessed due to Covid-19 - hospitalisations have been due to other medical conditions and Covid-19 has been an incidental finding.

Mandaviya emphasised staying alert and suggested that mock drills be conducted every three months.