WHO: Boost surveillance, Covid protective measures

On Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on countries in the Southeast Asia Region (SEARO) to enhance surveillance and encouraged individuals to adopt protective measures due to the rising instances of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and its new sub-variant JN.1, as well as influenza.

This advisory comes during a continuous surge in COVID-19 cases in India, a constituent of SEARO. Over the past 24 hours, data from the Union Health Ministry revealed 656 new positive cases. Consequently, the total number of active cases in the country has reached 3,742. The death toll from Covid-19 has climbed to 5,33,333, with one new fatality reported in Kerala within the past 24 hours.

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO South-East Asia regional director, emphasized that the COVID-19 virus is continually evolving, changing, and circulating globally. "While current evidence suggests that the additional public health risk posed by JN.1 is low, we must continue to monitor the evolution of these viruses to customize our response. To achieve this, countries need to bolster surveillance and sequencing efforts and ensure the sharing of data," stated Dr Singh.

WHO: नजरबंदी और Covid सुरक्षात्मक उपायों को बढ़ावा दें