- St Vincent (SVG) Records First Case of JN.1 COVID-19 Variant
St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has recorded the first case of the JN.1 COVID-19 variety, according to Dr. Roger Duncan, who serves as the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for the island nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
There was a confirmation of the presence of the variation, according to Duncan, who stated on Friday after samples were forwarded to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).
“We received confirmation of the JN.1 case in a sample that was delivered to CARPHA for sequencing as early as a week ago. If you are unwell, it is imperative that you should not go to work, take the bus, go to the grocery store, or go to church singing, clapping, or yelling. Instead, you should stay at home and refrain from doing any of these things. In spite of the fact that it could be challenging for some parents, children who are experiencing symptoms of illness should not be sent to school”.
In his explanation, Duncan stated that the JN.1 variant is not a novel one; rather, it is only a mutation of COVID-19, which began to affect SVG for the first time in the year 2020.
“It has been attempting to make itself more transmissible; it has been changing its antigenic properties. This means that the virus is going to live longer and survive better if it is able to be transmitted easily from one person to another.”
Individuals who may be at a higher risk, such as the elderly, children, and people who already have a pre-existing disease, were encouraged by Duncan to take caution because they may experience more severe symptoms.
WHO says severe cases, meanwhile, are still characterized by shortness of breath, chest pain or pale, gray or blue skin, lips or nail beds — an indicator of a lack of oxygen.
But on the whole, Covid symptoms are milder than they were early in the pandemic.
