Amaravati, December 22: Citing inputs from senior health officials, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said there is no need to worry about the JN.1 strain of coronavirus, which is said to be the cause of a spike in cases across India. He issued this statement following a review meeting with senior officials where he cautioned them to take preventive steps.

"Alert the village and ward secretariat system, and the village clinic system for preventive steps. Village clinic staff should be made aware of the steps that need to be taken against the new variant," Reddy said in an official press release. COVID-19 Variant JN.1 in Kerala: State Records 265 New Coronavirus Cases, One Death.

According to officials, there is no need to panic over the new covid variant as infected persons were recovering without 'complications.' They highlighted to the Chief Minister that infected people were recovering without requiring hospitalisation and that the JN.1 variant is not like the Delta variant, which required many patients to be under hospital care.

However, they noted that the new strain is spreading faster, said the press release. Further, the officials informed Reddy that symptomatic patients were being tested in government hospitals and positive samples were being dispatched to the genome laboratory in Vijayawada for further analysis. COVID-19 Variant JN.1: ‘We Need To Be Cautious, Not Panic’, Says Former WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan (Watch Video).

Likewise, they apprised the CM that the ward and village secretariats are being stocked with rapid testing kits, along with personal care kits in the hospitals. Besides keeping medicines on standby, officials informed the Chief Minister that oxygen infrastructure is also being readied and 57,000 oxygen beds were kept ready.