Rising Covid cases in SE Asia may be attributed to seasonal flu trends: Experts

With media reports citing cases of Covid19 infections surging in Southeast Asia bringing fresh fears about the disease that affected millions of people and the global economy health experts on Tuesday dismissed them as seasonal trends of fluAs per media reports the weekly Covid19 infections in Singapore surged by 28 per cent from 11100 in late April to 14200 in the first week of May with hospitalisations also rising 30 per centHong Kong recorded 31 virusrelated deaths in the week ending May 3 the cityrsquos highest weekly toll in a year New infections in Hong Kong rose to 1042 in the week ending May 10 up from 972 the previous weekldquoRising Covid cases in Southeast Asia are attributed to seasonal trends of flu cases Most of the cases are mild and do not need any hospitalisationrdquo Dr Harshal R Salve Additional professor at the Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS New Delhi told IANSIndia also is seeing a slight uptick in cases A review held on Monday by the Ministry of Health concluded that the current situation in India is ldquounder controlrdquo with just 257 active cases reported nationwide as of May 19ldquoCovid19 is a cyclical disease which means that cases will rise every few months The intervals can range from six to nine months As with other Asian countries we are seeing Covid cases in India too But they are not overwhelming hospitals and are not any more severe than they used to be In fact most cases are so mild they are being treated as outpatientrdquo said Dr Rajeev Jayadevan Convener Research Cell Kerala State IMAldquoDue to widespread immunity due to prior vaccination and from surviving past infections Covid19 is no longer the destructive force it used to be There is no indication of any major genetic shift having occurred in the virus that could alter the character of the disease it causesrdquo he addedChina and Thailand have also reported a notable increase in new infections The surge is being largely attributed to the spread of new Omicron subvariants including JN1 and its related descendants LF7 and NB18 which make up over twothirds of sequenced casesThe increase in cases may also be attributed to waning immunity with periodic waves being anticipatedWhile the cases reported so far are generally mild in severity ldquothe outcome also depends on the host For instance infection in a frail elderly individual could lead to more severe outcomesrdquo Jayadevan saidThe experts urged cough hygiene and cleanliness to fight the virusldquoWhen cases rise itrsquos important to take more precautions than usual Wearing masks in crowded closed spaces will be helpful Those who have a fever should stay home and avoid mingling with othersrdquo Jayadevan saidMeanwhile the health ministry assured that the country has a robust system for surveillance of respiratory viral illnesses including Covid also exists in the country through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme IDSP and ICMRThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params