Maharashtra reports 70 new Covid-19 cases; Positivity rate at 2.09 per cent

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Maharashtra has reported 70 Covid-19 cases on Monday, at a positivity rate of 2.09 per cent, down from 131 a day earlier, a health department official said.

There were no deaths due to the ailment, while 32 persons were discharged during the day, he added.

The state has 693 active cases, of which only 42 are in hospitals, while the remaining are in home isolation, the official said.

Of these 42 persons who are hospitalised, nine are in ICU and 33 are in non-ICU wards, he added.

Of the 8,76,37,095 samples that have been tested since the pandemic began, a total of 81,72,906 have returned positive at a positivity rate of 9.33 per cent, a health department bulletin said.

A total of 3,347 samples were tested on Monday, comprising 1,454 by the RT-PCR method and 1,893 through RAT test, it said.

The recovery rate in the state stands at 98.17 per cent, the bulletin informed.

Meanwhile, a total of 197 cases of Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country so far, with Odisha joining the list of states that have detected the presence of the variant, according to INSACOG's data updated on Monday.

Ten states and Union Territories have so far detected the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus.

These states are Kerala (83), Goa (51), Gujarat (34), Karnataka (eight), Maharashtra (eight), Rajasthan (five), Tamil Nadu (four), Telangana (two), Odisha (one) and Delhi (one), according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).

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The INSACOG's data showed 180 Covid cases recorded in the country in December had the presence of JN.1, while 17 such cases were detected in November.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a separate "variant of interest" given its rapidly-increasing spread, but said it poses a "low" global public health risk.

The JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus was previously classified as a variant of interest (VOI) as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineages, the parent lineage that is classified as a VOI, the world body said.

However, in recent weeks, JN.1 cases continued to be reported from multiple countries and its prevalence has rapidly increased globally.

The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to maintain a constant vigil amid an uptick in the number of Covid cases and the detection of the JN.1 sub-variant in the country.

India has recorded 636 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases stood at 4,394, according to the data released by the Union health ministry on Monday. (With inputs from agencies)