COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 case detected in India's Kerala

NEW DELHI, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 has been detected in India's southern state of Kerala, the Indian government said.

India's health ministry said on Saturday that the case was detected during an ongoing routine surveillance activity by Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG).

"The case was detected in a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive sample from Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Dec. 8, 2023. The patient had mild symptoms of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and has since recovered from COVID-19," the health ministry said.

The ministry said there has been an increasing trend of COVID-19 cases from Kerala over the past few weeks. The increase has been attributed to a surge in number of samples from ILI cases being referred for testing.

"A majority of these cases are clinically mild and recovering on their own at their homes without any treatment," the ministry said.

As part of a regular exercise of the health ministry, a mock drill at all health facilities in the states is underway to assess their public health and hospital-preparedness measures.

Officials said the health ministry was in regular touch with the Kerala health department and monitoring various points of entry.