Thailand reported 33,030 COVID-19 cases last week, with at least 6,000 infections reported in Bangkok, the country’s Department of Disease Control has said.
It said that coronavirus cases recorded between May 11 and 17 doubled from the 16,000 cases reported the previous week. Local media reports indicate that out of the total number of infections, 1,918 individuals have been hospitalised, while two deaths have been reported from Sukhothai and Kanchanaburi provinces.
The new wave of COVID-19 infections is affecting people aged between 30 to 39 in Thailand, as authorities advise citizens to wear face masks and use an antigen test kit (ATK) if they develop symptoms of fever, cough or fatigue.
New COVID variant on the loose?
Meanwhile, the virus has also been spreading in Singapore , with cases rising from 14,200 cases in the first week of May, as compared to 11,100 cases in the week before that.
“At present, LF.7 and NB.1.8 (both descendants of the JN.1 variant) are the main COVID-19 variants circulating in Singapore, together accounting for more than two-thirds of locally sequenced cases. JN.1 is also the variant used in the formulation of the current COVID-19 vaccine,” Singapore’s Ministry of Health said.
The authorities said that the increase in COVID-19 infections could be due to several factors, including waning population immunity, and expect periodic waves of the viral infection throughout the year, similar to other endemic respiratory diseases.
Should you be worried?
Health authorities in India are keeping an eye on reports of a rise in COVID cases in Singapore and Hong Kong, even as official sources, earlier this week, asserted the current coronavirus situation in the country was under control.
A review meeting of experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, Emergency Medical Relief division, Disaster Management Cell, Indian Council of Medical Research and Central government hospitals was held on Monday under the chairpersonship of the director general of health services.
