The Union Health Secretary on Saturday reviewed the COVID-19 situation amid a recent uptick in cases reported from some southern states, news agency ANI said citing officials.
States including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka have seen a rise in fresh infections. However, most of these cases have been classified as mild and are being managed through home isolation, officials added.
The Health Ministry has assured that it remains vigilant and is proactively monitoring the situation through multiple agencies.
One case of the emerging NB.1.8.1 Covid variant and four LF.7 cases have been detected in India, INSACOG data shows.
These subvariants, currently classified by WHO as Variants Under Monitoring, are linked to rising cases in parts of Asia.
India’s dominant strain remains JN.1, but health authorities are closely tracking NB.1.8.1 due to its spike protein mutations linked to immune escape.
Deaths In Karnataka, Thane
Several states have reported a gradual uptick in cases. Delhi logged 23 new infections, Andhra Pradesh reported four, Telangana confirmed one case, and a nine-month-old tested positive in Bengaluru. Kerala alone has reported over 270 cases so far this month.
An 84-year-old man with severe comorbidities died in Bengaluru and later tested positive for Covid-19, marking Karnataka’s first virus-related fatality in recent weeks. Officials confirmed 38 active cases in the state, including 32 in Bengaluru.
In Maharashtra, a 21-year-old man with severe diabetes died at a Thane hospital after testing positive for Covid-19. The city reported eight new cases on Saturday, with 18 active infections.
Cases Mild In Nature
Mild infections were reported in Delhi, Noida, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thane, Indore and Rishikesh. Recent deaths in Thane and Bengaluru were linked to severe comorbidities, not the severity of the infection, officials told PTI.
“It is observed that most of these cases are mild and under home care. It may also be mentioned that there have been some media reports regarding increase in COVID-19 cases in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries in the recent past. It has been ascertained from the respective National IHR focal points that there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to the previously circulating variants,” the official was quoted as saying by the news agency.
-Agencies