Active cases cross 100 in TN; no JN.1 variant detected so far

CHENNAI: There are no cases of the JN.1 variant of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, the State Health Department officials said on Friday as the active cases of the pandemic virus crossed 100 in Tamil Nadu.

The State reported 22 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the total number of infections to 36,10,963. About 406 samples were tested in the last 24 hours in the State.

While three persons had died in the last couple of days in neighbouring Kerala, no deaths were reported in Tamil Nadu after the new variant was detected.

Among the districts, Chennai reported the highest number of 11 new cases. The capital city has 47 active cases at present.

According to the officials from the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, none of the samples tested in the State have tested positive for JN.1. They said the impact of the virus on the affected in Kerala and Singapore is not severe.

“We have not seen a major surge in the cases, but testing is done in adequate numbers. The health department authorities are checking with the authorities concerned in Singapore on the recovery, symptoms, and projection of the cases. We have been informed that most of the patients are recovering towards the fourth day and that the common symptoms include flu and cough,” said Health Minister Ma Subramanian adding that the 23 COVID-19 patients, who tested positive on Thursday, are recovering well.