In a relief for West Bengal, swab samples of Covid-19 patients sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBG) in Kalyani for genome sequencing were tested JN.1 negative, a sub-variant of Covid. Swab samples of around 30 Covid positive cases were sent to the NIBG, a central government-run laboratory confirming the presence of new strains of novel coronavirus disease and other viral infections, during the past oneand-a-half months since November.
All the samples were tested JN.1 negative, sources at the state health department Swasthya Bhaban said, adding, “We are relieved so far but it does not mean that there would no further JN.1-affected case in our state. There might be chances of Covid cases with JN.1 infection any day,” a senior official in the health department said.
A senior administrative officer in NIBG said that they have urged the state health department to send swab samples of Covid-affected patients as much as possible to the institute for genome sequencing. “Maximum JN.1 confirmatory tests are required for genome sequencing to find out whether there is a steep hike in JN.1 sub-variant-infected cases in the state. It takes around three to four days to get results of genome sequencing tests.
Last week, only seven swab samples were sent to our laboratory,” he said. Five fresh Covid positive cases were reported in the city on Tuesday. They are undergoing treatment in two separate private hospitals. The health department has started making visits to different state government medical colleges and hospitals to take stock of infrastructure facilities including human resource strength and critical care arrangements if Covid cases increase again after around 11 months since January. A team of experts from Swasthya Bhaban visited B C Roy Institute of Paediatric Science and R G Kar Medical College Hospital.