Delhi reports first case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1: Officials

Delhi has reported its first case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1, officials said on Wednesday. Delhi has more than 35 active cases with nine fresh infections being reported on Wednesday, an official said, adding that a 28-year-old man, who had comorbidities, died, with Covid not being the primary reason.

"The man was not from Delhi and was referred to a private hospital recently. He had multiple comorbidities and the Covid finding was incidental. The sample of the man has been sent for genome sequencing and a report is awaited," he added. The official said multiple samples were sent for genome sequencing, and one of them tested positive for the JN.1 variant. India recorded 529 fresh COVID-19 cases in a single day, while the country’s active infection count stood at 4,093, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

Three new fatalities — two from Karnataka and one from Gujarat — were reported in 24 hours, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am. The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, but infections have again gone up after the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.