Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said here on Monday that there were four Corona patients in hospitals of the national capital, but added that the situation doesn’t warrant panic.

Bhardwaj’s statement came in the wake of the rise in COVID cases, especially its sub-variant JN.1 in the country towards the end of 2023.

India, on Monday, recorded 628 fresh cases of Covid-19 cases crossing the 4,000 mark, the Union Health Ministry said.

The spike in Covid-19 cases came amid a rise in sub-variant JN.1 cases across the country.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as many as 4,054 active Covid-19 cases were reported in the past 24 hours compared to 3,742 on Sunday, the data updated on Monday said.

The Delhi health minister asked for a genome sequencing report to know whether the new Covid cases are of new variants or not. “On an average, 400-500 samples are being tested every day in Delhi, and on average, 5-7 positive cases are coming; that is, the positivity is about one percent. As of today, a total of four Corona patients are in hospitals in Delhi. There is no situation of panic,” Bhardwaj said.

Moreover, the Delhi health department ordered authorities to send an “adequate” number of COVID samples for RT-PCR tests amid an uptick in Coronavirus cases.

“We have sent the new cases for genome sequencing. The report will be known whether this variant is new or old. However, the new variant is also not serious, so if there is a new variant, then there is no need to worry too much,” Bhardwaj added.

During a discussion at the Central government level four days ago, it came out that the new variant is originating from southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, etc. This is a sub-variant of Omicron. Since it’s mild, the cases are not very serious.

“If someone is suffering from a chronic illness or has low immunity, they should not go to crowded areas. We have also issued the same guidelines as per the Centre’s guidelines. Do not do anything that might otherwise spread panic,” said Bhardwaj in an advice to the general public.

When asked about any restrictions being issued regarding crowd management during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Delhi health minister said, “I feel that, according to the Centre, this is not a very serious variant. Therefore, it is useless to issue such guidelines that are not implemented.”

“When people know that this disease is not very serious, no matter how many strict rules are made, there will be harassment in the name of enforcement, people will face problems, and it will not have much effect,” Bhardwaj said.