COVID-19: Himachal Health Department instructs districts to examine cases of respiratory illness

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], January 1 (ANI): Amid rising concerns over the surge in the Coronavirus cases given the emergence of the new JN.1 variant, the Health Department of Himachal Pradesh on Monday held a meeting to review the situation across the state.
The Chief Medical Officers of all the districts have been instructed to examine cases of respiratory illnesses.
"Keeping in mind the festive season, the Chief Medical Officers in all the districts have been instructed to examine cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). The state has witnessed only two Covid-19 cases during the last 10 days," said the Health Secretary in an official statement.
"As per the directions of the central government, a Covid drill was organised across the District Health Institutions in the state which went from December 13 to 17. The state's first INSACOG lab has been established in the Mandi Medical College, affiliated with the Central Government, where any variant of the Coronavirus can be detected using genome sequencing," added the release.
The official release went on to state that the Himachal government is all prepared to tackle any situation.
"At present, the Covid situation is under control in the state and the government is ready to tackle any situation. Across all the medical institutions in the state, there are a total of 8,234 beds, out of which, 1,187 are oxygen-supported, 325 ICU beds, and 333 beds have ventilators. There are a total of 795 ventilators in the state, 4,323 oxygen concentrators, 9,650 oxygen cylinders, and 46 pressure swing adsorption plants and four liquid medical oxygen plants," it added.
The World Health Organisation (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.
As the new year rings in, both the central and state governments are keeping a close watch on the new Omicron Subvariant JN.1.
JN.1 is a Variant of Interest (VOI) that is under intense scientific scrutiny. As of December 16, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported 7,344 cases of the COVID-19 JN.1 subvariant from 41 countries.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of Delhi has issued guidelines for COVID-19 suspected or positive cases that will be reported at hospitals following the sudden surge in the cases of coronavirus in the country. (ANI)