With reports of a rise in cases of the new Covid variant, JN.1, in some neighbouring States, and the start of a cross-border tourist influx into the city for New Year celebrations, the Health Department has advised the public to adopt precautionary measures, including wearing masks, to avoid a spike in cases in the weeks ahead.
The Health Department officials said that the COVID-19 case numbers have remained low so far - at present 11 cases in isolation - and the severity of symptoms has been relatively less intense. However, officials anticipate a jump in caseload In the weeks following the New Year eve, Pongal and the concurrent Sabarimala pilgrimage.
“The risk is aggravated for persons whose health is already vulnerable because of underlying co-morbidity,” said G. Sriramulu, Health Director.
A couple of days ago, Puducherry recorded its second COVID-19 related death in about eight months when a 58-year-old man succumbed to multiple co-morbidities after testing positive for Covid. In April, a 35-year-old woman had died from COVID-19 complications in Karaikal.
This is why health officials are urging the public to take precautionary measures such as wearing masking and maintaining social distancing to limit the spread of the infectious disease.
The common symptoms of the new variant include mild fever, respiratory distress and body ache.
Meanwhile, though the Health Department has proposed to increase testing, the move is reportedly facing resistance from patients and their kin. “We have asked PHCs to conduct testing for COVID-19 on fever patients with associated symptoms, but the feedback we are getting is that there is an extreme reluctance among the patients to undergo a test,” Dr. Sriramulu said.
District Collector E. Vallavan said given the low incidence not warranting an iron hand approach or regulation in the scale of celebrations, the advocacy of self-protection measures for tourists was on a voluntary basis.
