Odisha Govt Urges Elderly People to Wear Facemask

Bhubaneswar: In the wake of emergence of JN1 variant of COVID-19, the Odisha Government has urged the elderly people and those with comorbidities to wear facemask while going out. The Health Department has also advised the elderly people to avoid visiting crowded places. Odisha has reported its first positive case in the last 24 hours, as per the state-wise status uploaded by the Centre on Saturday. More than 200 samples were tested yesterday, of which one test result came positive for COVID-19, as per reports. This is the first case of COVID19 after December 3. The patient is undergoing treatment at home and his condition is stated to be normal. Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra informed that most of the JN1 cases have been reported from Kerala and those infected are elderly people with comorbidities. Hence the senior citizens and people with comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension and other serious health conditions must be cautious, he added. On the other hand, India recorded 752 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest in seven months and more than double the number of infections reported yesterday. Four related deaths were also reported during this period as against one yesterday. The country added 328 cases and one death yesterday, including 265 cases from Kerala alone. The death was also reported from the southern state. The active cases in India today stand at 3,420, adding 423 cases to yesterday’s figure of 2,997, showed the health ministry dashboard. JN.1, a new variant driving the latest surge in infections, has raised concerns among authorities and health experts. As many as 21 cases of the variant have been found in Goa thus far, and another in Kerala, according to news agency PTI. Kerala, which has been accounting for a major chunk of the cases reported across the country in recent days, reported 565 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The active cases in the state stand at 2,872. Noida has also reported its first Covid case after months with a 54-year-old resident working in Gurugram tested positive.

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