Washington DC

Social distancing and face masks are gradually making a comeback in many countries amidst the fresh bout of coronavirus outbreak that is being fuelled by highly transmissible JN.1 variant.

Advertisment

First detected in Luxembourg, JN.1 is believed to have evolved from the Pirola variant (BA.2.86), which itself stems from the Omicron sub-variant.

More than five countries have recorded fresh COVID-19 cases, with some even reporting deaths.

According to the World Health Organisation, Pirola and its variants accounted for 17 per cent of the Sars-CoV-2 sequences uploaded to the global database Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID).

Advertisment

By the beginning of December, more than half of these sequences were that of JN.1. In the United States, JN.1 accounted for 15 per cent to 29 per cent of the circulating COVID-19 variants.

Cases have been detected in the US, some European countries, Singapore, China and India.

Singapore

Advertisment

The Southeast Asian country gas recorded more than 56,000 cases between December 4 and 10.

Singapore’s health ministry said that the country saw an increase in hospitalisation, mostly among those above the age of 60.

“Cases infected by JN.1, a sublineage of BA.2.86, currently account for the vast majority of the COVID-19 cases in Singapore. Based on the available international and local data, there is currently no clear indication that BA.2.86 or JN.1 are more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other circulating variants,” it said.

Indonesia

Covid cases have risen by 13 per cent compared to November in Indonesia, with capital Jakarta seeing an average of 200 cases per day, The Star reported.

Around 90 per cent of these cases are asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic and hospitalisations are under control, the officials said.

Malaysia

Covid cases doubled in a week in Malaysia ahead of Christmas and New Year. Cases have jumped from 6,796 in the last week of November to nearly 13,000 by December 10, the New Strait Times reported.

However, the government has ruled out imposing a lockdown and is focusing on community tracing via its TRIIS (test, report, isolate, inform and seek) system to curb the spread.

Malaysian Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad urged people to wear masks and advised senior citizens and those with underlying medical issues to get a Covid booster dose.

China

China has seen around seven JN.1 Covid cases so far, with the Chinese authorities describing it a "low epidemic level", Global Times reported.

All these infections are mild and asymptomatic cases.

Also read | India: Advisory issued to states amid recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases, new variant concerns

The Philippines

The Philippines has also registered an uptick in Covid and flu-like illnesses. In the first week of December, the Philippines recorded 1,340 new cases, Reuters reported quoting the health department.

Also read | Singapore witnesses record surge in number of Covid-19 cases, mask-mandate returns

India

India registered its first JN.1 cases from southern Kerala state during a routine surveillance.  This variant was also detected in the sample of a traveller from Singapore to Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapalli, according to the ministry.

Another 15 cases of the JN.1 variant were detected in samples from Goa, according to reports.

While the Indian government has urged citizens to remain cautious, Kerala and Karnataka governments said they are undertaking containment measures.

US

JN.1 was first detected in the US in September but spread slowly at first. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, it has accounted for a growing percentage of test samples sequenced by labs, surpassing 20% during the two-week period ending Dec 9

(With inputs from agencies)