"Indian States Address Rising Covid Cases: JN.1 Variant, Mask Mandates, and Increased Testing"

Kerala state in India has urged caution but advised against panic as Covid-19 cases rise following the detection of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus. The World Health Organization has stated that all approved Covid-19 vaccines will still provide protection against JN.1. Kerala currently has 1,324 active Covid-19 cases, with officials attributing the increase to the state's high testing rate. However, it is unclear how many of these cases are related to the JN.1 variant, as only a small number of samples are routinely genome sequenced. State health minister Veena George reassured the public that the situation was under control.