Is Covid-19 or coronavirus back in India? The recent deaths of two Covid-19 patients in Mumbai of Maharashtra and a spike in cases in some regions of Southeast Asia have once again raised this pressing question.
The hospital where two deaths were reported has, however, clarified that the deaths were due to co-morbidities and not linked to Covid-19 as it advised people not to panic. Odisha, too, has confirmed that it has not reported any fresh coronavirus cases in the state.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had recently stated that very few cases of the infection have been found and that too, sporadically.
The BMC said, “The health department of the BMC is constantly monitoring the spread of Covid-19. From January 2025 to April 2025, the number of Covid-19 patients has been found to be very low. But since the beginning of May, there have been some cases of Covud-19. However, the BMC administration is appealing to citizens not to panic in this regard.”
But for precaution, the BMC said it has set aside dedicated beds and rooms for Covid-19 patients in Mumbai’s municipal hospitals.
The capacity will be scaled up immediately if needed, the statement added.
CASES SPIKE IN HONG KONG, CHINA, THAILAND, SINGAPORE
In Hong Kong, the health centre says the virus activity is “quite high” and the testing has also reached its highest in a year. By the first three days of May this year, Hong Kong reported 31 severe cases.
In China, the Covid-19 positivity rate has increased from 7.5 per cent to 16.2 per cent from March 31 to May 4. Hospitalised cases have also increased.
In Singapore, the hospitalisation has increased with a surge in the Covid-19 cases. According to reports, the cases have jumped 28 per cent to 14,200. It was 11,100 cases the previous week.
In Thailand in past two weeks, the cases have jumped to double from 16,000 to over 33,000 in the week ending May 17. Most cases have been reported in Bangkok, Chon Buri, Rayong and Nonthaburi.
With the rise in cases, Thailand has urged its citizens to get “booster vaccinations”.
THE CAUSE OF COVID-19 SPIKE
JN.1 is a Covid-19 variant and a Omicron lineage’s BA.2.86 subvariant which is mostly credited with the rise in the Covid cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has categorised it as “variant of interest” but not a “concern”.
At present, ‘LF.7’ and ‘NB.1.8’ – both descendants of the ‘JN.1’ variant – are the main variants of the Covid-19 – causing virus circulating in Singapore. The variants together account for over two-thirds of the locally sequenced cases.
The Hong Kong authorities said in a statement on 15 May that the XDV strain of the Covid-19 virus has been circulating locally since late March this year.
“In early 2024, the predominant strains circulated locally changed from XBB to JN.1; while in the third quarter of 2024, they changed from JN.1 to KP.2 and KP.3; and they have further changed to XDV since late March this year,” Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said.
The health authorities in India are keeping an eye on reports of a rise in Covid-19 cases in Singapore and Hong Kong, even as official sources on Monday asserted that the current coronavirus situation in the country was under control.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) convened a review meeting on Monday with experts from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Emergency Medical Relief (EMR) division, Disaster Management Cell, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and central government hospitals.
The expert review meeting concluded that the current Covid-19 situation in India remains under control.
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