India registers 628 new Covid cases, 1 death in 24 hours

NEW DELHI: A total of 63 JN.1 Covid variant cases have been reported in the country till December 24, sources in the health ministry said on Monday. Maximum 34 cases on the new sub variant have been confirmed from Goa followed by Maharashtra (9), Karnataka (8), Kerala (6), Tamil Nadu (4) and Telangana (2).

Virologists say the JN.1 is slowly spreading across states and it is likely to replace XBB lineages to become the predominant strain of coronavirus causing Cov-19 in India. On Monday, authorities reported 628 new Covid-19 cases and one death in 24 hours.
NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul said last week that the scientific community closely investigating the new Covid sub-variant and stressed the need for states to ramp up testing."Even though number of cases is rising and the JN.1 sub-variant has been detected in the country, there is no cause of immediate concern as 92% of those infected are opting for home-based treatment, indicating a mild illness," officials said.