Covid 19 cases in India have started increasing once again. Along with this, the threat of JN.1 sub-variant is also being seen with its first case reported in Kerala.

JN.1 is a descendant of the "pirola" variant BA 2.86, which by itself is an Omicron subvariant. JN.1 has an additional mutation receptor binding domain (L455S) compared to BA 2.86. JN.1 has extensive resistance across receptor binding domain classes 1, 2, and 3 and shows higher immune evasion as compared with BA 2.86 and other resistant strains.

The World Health Organization has classified JN.1 as a variant of interest. IMA COVID Task Force Dr Rajeev Jayadevan on Thursday said that the new strain can be problematic for people of old age and those with multiple comorbidities.

Speaking of Covid cases in India, India on Thursday recorded 594 fresh COVID-19 infections while the number of active cases increased to 2,669 from 2,311 the previous day. The death toll climbed to 5,33,327 with six more people -- three from Kerala, two from Karnataka and one from Punjab -- succumbing to the viral disease.

Kerala reported 265 fresh COVID-19 infections and one death due to the disease in the last 24 hours, according to data on the Union Health Ministry website on Friday. Of the 328 coronavirus infections reported nationwide till 8 am today, 265 were from Kerala, taking the active cases in the state to 2,606, as per the website.With one death reported in the state, the total number of people who have died due to coronavirus in Kerala since its outbreak three years ago reached 72,060.