COVID-19 surge is likely, but there is no reason to panic, says Director of Public Health

Tamil Nadu reports mild symptoms of JN.1 COVID-19 variant; no need to panic, says DPH.

In the coming weeks, there may be a surge in COVID-19 cases but there is no need to panic. At present, the latest COVID-19 variant — JN.1, a sublineage of Omicron — is causing mild symptoms, Director of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine T. S. Selvavinayagam said.

Giving an assessment of the current situation and elaborating on the findings of the whole genome sequencing (WGS), Dr. Selvavinayagam said, “The latest variant — JN.1 — is present in 41 countries, with the prevalence reaching 27% among the existing variants in those countries. This variant is a sublineage of BA.2.86, which is a part of Omicron. We are already exposed to Omicron and its variants. Our current experience shows that it causes mild symptoms; so, there is no need for worry.”

At present, 80% of the samples sent for WGS have tested positive for the XBB variant, he said.

“This has been the trend for samples sequenced from June till December. About 13% of the samples were of the BA.2 variant that would include JN.1. This may change in the coming days. In the last three years, we have had different variants in circulation such as Alpha, Delta, BA.2, and XBB. It keeps changing. So, JN.1 could have started spreading in November, and those who tested positive then have already recovered,” he said.

Of the 56 samples sent for WGS to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, the results of 30 are out. Of them, JN.1 was identified in four samples.

“We are yet to receive the results of the remaining 26 samples: 10 from November and 16 from December,” he added.