Tamil Nadu sends Covid-positive samples for testing

Chennai: The state health department has sent Covid-19-positive samples to a public health laboratory on Anna Salai for whole genome sequencing as a new subvariant of Omicron, JN.1, has caused a surge in cases in neighbouring Kerala and Singapore, health minister Ma Subramanian said here on Friday.
“Due to an increase in cases in Kerala, Tamil Nadu has ordered for more RT-PCR tests wherever there are many fever cases,” he said.At least 264 people with flu-like illnesses underwent RT-PCR tests and among them, eight people including two from Chennai have tested positive for Covid-19, he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.
On Wednesday, Kerala reported 1,104 active Covid-19 cases. Samples of people who tested positive were sent for genetic tests, he said. “Covid-19 has many mutations, including alpha, beta, delta, delta plus, gamma, and Omicron. We sent the samples to the lab to find out the variant of the Covid-19. We will know the results in four or five days,” he added.
Reports from Kerala and Singapore show that the new variant causes milder infection among the patients. “Patients complain of throat pain, cough and cold. They recover in three to four days and recover,” he said. Doctors have also advised elderly, pregnant women, and people with comorbid conditions to avoid closed crowded spaces without face mask.
“There is no need to panic. For the past six or seven months, the Covid-19 cases have been in single digits in TN ,” he said. The two patients from Chennai have mild symptoms, including cold and cough, he said. The TN government has 331 RT-PCR testing centres of which 78 are government testing centres, he said.
In most cases seen in the past three months, officials in the state public health laboratory said nearly half of the people with moderate or severe symptoms such as fever, cold and cough turned out to have influenza A mainly H1N1 (swine flu) and H3N2, the predominant strain of the flu that sends people to hospital during seasonal flu. “We have not yet seen the new variant in TN, but we are vigilant,” said director of public health Dr T S Selvavinayagam.