Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday chaired a high-level meeting here in view of the recent spurt in COVID-19 cases in several parts of the country.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who holds the health portfolio, and top government officials. Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Pratyay Amrit said two cases of the JN.1 variant have so far been detected in the state.?

The two patients had a travel history, and are in home isolation, he said. Amrit said the health department was maintaining due diligence to keep the contagion under check.

Kumar said while there was no need for panic, the department must ramp up the testing rate and adequate availability of drugs, equipment, oxygen cylinders and manpower be ensured at all hospitals. The chief minister also called for spread of awareness about Covid-appropriate behaviour through social media and other channels, and issued instructions that hospital staff must be told to wear masks.?

A rise in daily positivity rate has been observed in a few states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is working on genome sequencing of the new JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2, Union Health Ministry officials had recently said.