Covid scare back in India; Kerala, Mumbai, Delhi hospitals on high alert as cases rise

The COVID-19 scare is back in India, with cases now reappearing in cities across the country. This has led states and Union Territories like Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh to put hospitals on alert.

Delhi has reported 23 cases so far, according to news agency PTI. The last case here was reported three years back.

Most of the cases are mild, with no severe symptoms or deaths reported.

JN.1 variant to be blamed

Experts believe the increase in the COVID-19 cases in South Asia is due to the JN.1 variant, a sub-variant of Omicron. Although this variant is active, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet labelled it as a "variant of concern."

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The symptoms are usually mild, and people recover within four days. Common symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, headaches, fatigue, and exhaustion.

Delhi has reported 23 cases, leading the government to instruct hospitals to ensure beds, oxygen cylinders, testing kits, and vaccines are available.

Health Minister Pankaj Singh said there is no need to panic as the latest variant is similar to the common flu.

Delhi has also asked hospitals to upload daily data on Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases.

Cities in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) like Noida and Ghaziabad have also reported cases. Noida identified its first Covid patient (55) in this wave on Saturday (May 24), and Ghaziabad has reported four cases so far.

Status in other states

Kerala, with 273 Covid infections in May, has the highest number of cases. The state health minister has instructed all districts to increase surveillance and made masks mandatory in hospitals. People with cough symptoms are advised to wear face coverings.

Karnataka has seen a slight increase with 35 cases, including a nine-month-old baby from Hoskote. People with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) symptoms are advised to get tested.

Mumbai has reported 95 cases in May, making up most of Maharashtra's total infections. However, hospitalisations are low, with only 16 patients admitted. The BMC has advised testing for all patients with SARI symptoms.

Thane in Maharashtra has detected 10 cases over the last three days. The health department said all health centres have enough medicine supplies.

Even though Andhra Pradesh has not seen a significant increase, it has instructed health facilities to maintain adequate stocks of vaccines, PPE kits, and triple-layer masks.

People returning from Covid-affected countries, mostly in Asia, are advised to undergo testing.