Covid case detected in Jammu
“The patient was tested Covid positive. He has been kept in home isolation and his sample has been sent to Pune for genome sequencing to see if it as new JN.1 sub variant,” said Dr Gupta
After the first Covid case in a “long time” in Jammu city on Thursday, contact tracing and testing till Friday returned negative tests, said government medical college and hospital principal Dr Ashutosh Gupta.
Sample of the patient, an elderly man, has been sent to Pune lab for genome sequencing.
“The patient was tested Covid positive. He has been kept in home isolation and his sample has been sent to Pune for genome sequencing to see if it as new JN.1 sub variant,” said Dr Gupta.
However, he said that there was no need to panic as measures are in place to meet any challenge. The report of the sample is expected in around 10 days.
“The patient had no travel history but he was visited by an acquaintance who had returned from abroad a few days ago. Till Friday, contact tracing and testing has returned negative reports,” he added.
On December 20, health and medical education secretary Bhupinder Kumar reviewed the Covid preparedness of the public health system across Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in light of the advisory issued by the Union health ministry following the JN.1 sub-variant’s emergence.
Kumar directed all stakeholders to take proactive measures to ensure full preparedness to handle any potential scenarios.
He asked all the heads of departments concerned and chief medical officers to activate Covid testing facilities, conduct ample testing following the revised surveillance strategy, and meticulously report influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infection cases, while adhering to recommended testing protocols.