Trinidad and Tobago has confirmed its first COVID-19 case belonging to the JN.1 sub-variant category.
The case was confirmed by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).
According to a release from T&T’s Ministry of Health (MoH), this sub-variant is a descendant of the Omicron variant. The Ministry noted that there is no evidence to suggest that the JN.1 sub-variant causes more severe illness, however, evidence does suggest it may be more easily spread from person to person than its predecessor.
T&T’s Health Ministry also confirmed another COVID-19-related death, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths since December 23, 2023, to six, four of which occurred this month.
T&T’s MoH has noted a global increase in COVID-19 cases within recent months. It said a similar trend has been observed in the Caribbean region and locally as a result of increased movement of people, which is consistent with the Christmas and Carnival seasons, among other factors.
