Terming the latest Covid variant JN1 as “mild”, the Gujarat government on Wednesday said the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat summit will be held as scheduled on January 10-12, 2024.
The government said there were currently 13 active Covid cases in Gujarat, including one case reported on Wednesday. “It is a mild variant and is not of a variant of concern. No deaths have been registered. However, we need to be alert. It will not affect the Vibrant Gujarat summit,” said Rushikesh Patel, the health minister of Gujarat.
On January 7, 2022, the Gujarat government had been forced to call off the 10th edition of the state-sponsored Vibrant Gujarat investors summit after a surge in Covid cases caused by the Omicron variant. The summit could not be held later in the year and was finally rescheduled to January 2024.
The minister said 5,700 government and private hospitals across the state have already conducted mock drills on December 13-17 in preparation for a possible Covid outbreak. After the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the minister told mediapersons in Gandhinagar that the number of Covid cases registered statewide in December was fewer than the 20 cases in October. “On an average 4-7 cases were being reported monthly during the last six months. Currently there are 13 active cases. However, none of the patients were hospitalised,” Patel added.
The minister said people need not be scared about the new variant and it appeared to be less dangerous.
On Tuesday, Chief minister Bhupendra Patel had presided over a core committee meeting to provide final touches to the Vibrant Gujarat summit. The meeting was attended by finance minister Kanu Desai, health minister Rushikesh Patel and Industries minister Balvantsinh Rajput.