Rajasthan reports 11 fresh COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours

Rajasthan has reported 11 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The state has witnessed seven cases in Jaipur and one each in the Alwar, Kota, Dausa and Sawai Madhopur districts, according to an official statement issued by the state health department. The number of active cases in the state stands at 20, stated the official release.

Meanwhile, a total of 656 cases of COVID-19 subvariant JN.1 and one death have been reported in the country for the past 24 hours, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The total number of active cases of COVID-19 in the country was recorded at 3,742.

Earlier on Saturday, a multifold spurt in fresh COVID cases was noted in the country, with Kerala contributing the majority of those. A total of 423 cases were reported, of which 266 were from Kerala and 70 from neighbouring Karnataka, Union health ministry data showed. Two deaths were reported in Kerala.

Meanwhile, former AIIMS director and senior pulmonologist, Dr Randeep Guleria said that the new subvariant of COVID is not causing severe infections and hospitalisation. "It is more transmissible, it is spreading more rapidly, and it is gradually becoming a dominant variant. It is causing more infections but the data also suggests that it is not causing severe infections or hospitalisations. Most of the symptoms are predominantly in the upper airways, like fever, cough, cold, sore throat, running nose and body aches," Dr Guleria said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence. Due to its rapidly increasing spread, WHO is classifying the variant JN.1 as a separate variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86. It was previously classified as VOI as part of BA.2.86 sublineages.