A surge in Covid-19 cases in some countries amid the festive season prompted the Union health ministry on Monday to caution all states to take appropriate measures to minimise the risk of widespread transmission.

“As the Covid virus continues to circulate and its epidemiology behaviour gets settled with the India weather conditions, and circulation of other pathogens, it is of utmost importance that we maintain a state of constant vigil over the Covid situation, right upto the district level,” health secretary Sudhansh Pant said in a letter to states.

“Recently a few states/UTs like Kerala have reported a slight upsurge in Covid cases; however no new variant of the virus had been picked up,” the letter said. “Considering the upcoming festive season, there is need to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimize risk of transmission of the disease by adherence to maintenance of respiratory hygiene.”

Many countries are seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases around the start of the holiday season, largely owing to the highly infective JN.1 variant. Singapore recorded 56,000 cases in the past week, compelling the local government issue an advisory on face masks. JN.1 is making up more than one in five new coronavirus infections in the US, according to the country’s Centre for Disease Control.

India also reported cases of JN.1. A 79-year-old woman in Kerala and a traveller from Tamil Nadu in Singapore tested positive for the sub- variant of Sars-Cov-2 virus that causes Covid-19, according to the health ministry.

In November, the World Health Organization classified BA.2.86 and its sub- lineages, including JN.1, as a variant of interest because of its sustained growth.

While the Kerala woman had mild illness and is now recovered, the central government has asked states to step up Covid-19 surveillance as a matter of abundant precaution. India recorded 260 new coronavirus infections, while active cases increased to 1,828, according to the health ministry data updated on Monday.

To be sure, although cases may have seen a slight increase, the number of hospitalisations and deaths has not seen any unusual surge so far.

Among the measures suggested by the health ministry to states include monitoring and reporting of district-wise influenza like illness and severe acute respiratory illness cases in all health facilities on a regular basis, including in the integrated health information platform portal, to detect the early rising trend of cases.

The health secretary also directed states to ensure adequate testing in all districts as per Covid-19 testing guidelines and maintaining a balance between RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests, and to ensure that RT-PCR positive samples are sent for whole genome sequencing to INSACOG laboratories to enable timely detection of new variants.

States have also been directed to conduct mock drills in hospitals and health care facilities to take stock of their preparedness and response capacities, and promote community awareness.

“Looking at the current data, there is no indication of more disease severity, even though it seems to be more infectious, the way it’s spreading,” said Dr GC Khilnani, former head of pulmonology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. “The updated Covid vaccines have been proven to be effective against the new sub- lineages and adhering to Covid- appropriate behaviour strictly is still the key to prevent getting infected.”