Health Minister reassures Moroccans on spread of new COVID-19 variant JN.1

The Moroccan Minister of Health has reassured Moroccans regarding the spread of the new JN.1 coronavirus strain. Khalid Ait Taleb said yesterday during a weekly session at the House of Representatives that the World Health Organization (WHO) had said that «the seriousness of the new variant, the speed of its spread, and even its morbidity rate have not been proven yet». «There is no need to panic», he argued.

The minister reminded MPs that his department «will continue, as usual, working on the evolution of Covid-19» in Morocco. «Based on the currently available data, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low», the WHO said in a statement last week.

The WHO classified the new COVID-19 variant JN.1 to a standalone «variant of interest» and not of concern.