Covid JN.1 variant scare: Odisha govt asks elderly persons and those with co-morbidities to wear facemasks

The Odisha government has issued an advisory, urging several category of people to use facemasks while going out in view of the emergence of JN.1 variant of Covid-19.

The Health and Family Welfare Department on Saturday informed that elderly people and those with co-morbidities have been advised to weak facemask while going out. The information was shared by the Health and Family Welfare Department on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

In its tweet, the Health department also advised the elderly people and those with co-morbidities to avoid visiting crowded places as well.

It is pertinent to mention here that Odisha reported one Covid-19 positive case in the past 24 hours. It is after a gap of 20 days that the Covid-19 infection case has been reported in the state.

With the cases of new JN.1 variant of Covid being reported in several other states in the country, concerns are being expressed over a spike in Covid cases. However, experts say that it is time to remain alert even though the cases with the new JN.1 variant are mild.

“Whatever decision has been taken by the Odisha government is appropriate for the specialised category of people as it has been seen in other countries that vulnerable groups are being hospitalised after getting affected by the new variant. Apart from facemasks, hand hygiene is also highly required,” said Health expert, Niraj Mishra.