No cause for concern yet in India: Experts

As several Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand saw a surge in Covid-19 cases in the last week, medical experts in India have said that there is no need to panic.

- SANKET KOUL

India registered 58 new cases since April 28, taking the total number of active cases to 93, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's Covid dashboard. The rise in fresh cases comes at a time when Covid testing volumes are not high at the moment. This is because many patients with viral fever and Covid-like symptoms are not being asked to undergo a test.

"The Centre and state governments are vigilant even though there is no plan to come out with any new guidelines yet. The caseload is relatively low, causing no panic," a source in the health ministry said.

Hong Kong and Singapore saw a relatively new strain of the virus. According to reports, Singapore reported a 28 per cent jump in estimated Covid cases last week, with numbers reaching 14,200 in the first week of May. Hong Kong also saw a rise in respiratory samples testing positive to 13.66 per cent in the week ending May 10 compared to 6.21 per cent four weeks ago. The Sars-CoV-2 variants circulating in Singapore are LF.7 and NB.1.8, both descendants of the JN.1 variant (Omicron).