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A total of 1,226 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been reported in the country so far with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh recording the highest number of cases till now, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) on Thursday.
Data compiled by INSACOG showed that 17 states and UTs have detected the presence of the variant.
Karnataka has detected 234 cases of JN.1 sub-variant followed by Andhra Pradesh (189), Maharashtra (170), Kerala (156), West Bengal (96), Goa (90), Tamil Nadu (88) and Gujarat (76).
Rajasthan recorded 37 JN.1 cases, Telangana 32, Chhattisgarh 25, Delhi 16, Uttar Pradesh 7, Haryana five, Odisha three, and Uttarakhand and Nagaland one each, according to the data accessed by PTI.
The Centre has asked the states and Union Territories to maintain a constant vigil amid an uptick in the number of Covid cases and the detection of the JN.1 sub-variant in the country.
The states have been urged to ensure effective compliance with the detailed operational guidelines for the revised surveillance strategy for COVID-19 shared with them by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The states have also been asked to regularly monitor and report district-wise cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) from all health facilities for early detection of a rising trend of Covid cases.
The World Health Organisation has classified JN.1 as a separate 'variant of interest' (VOI) given its rapidly increasing spread but said it poses a 'low' global public health risk.
The JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus was previously classified as a VOI as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineages, the parent lineage that is classified as a VOI, the world body said.
Meanwhile, India saw a single day rise of 305 new cases of COVID-19, while the number of active cases of the infection has declined to 2,439, the health ministry said on Thursday.
Three deaths -- one each from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat -- have been reported in a span of last 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.
The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, but cases began to increase after emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.
After December 5, a maximum of a single-day rise of 841 new cases were reported on December 31, which is 0.2 per cent of the peak cases reported in May 2021, official sources said.
Of the total active cases, around 92 per cent are recovering under home isolation.
"The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 sub-variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in the new cases nor a surge in the hospitalisation and mortality," the official source stated.
India has witnessed three waves of COVID-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily new cases and deaths being reported during the delta wave during April-June 2021.
At its peak, 414,188 new cases and 3915 deaths were reported on May 7, 2021.
Since the pandemic began in early 2020, there have been more than 4.5 crore people getting infected and over 5.3 lakh deaths in about four years since then across the country.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease stands at over 4.4 crore with a national recovery rate of 98.81 per cent, according to the ministry's website.
According to the website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered in the country.