Whereas Indian well being officers have comforted the general public that the scenario within the nation remains to be steady and inside their management, Singapore and Hong Kong, amongst different components of Asia, are battling a contemporary surge of COVID-19 instances fueled by Omicron subvariants.
Throughout a high-level evaluation assembly chaired by the Ministry of Well being on Monday, officers introduced a complete of 257 energetic COVID-19 instances throughout the nation as of Might 19, 2025. The assembly, presided over by the Director Normal of Well being Providers, had attendance by representatives of the Nationwide Centre for Illness Management (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Analysis (ICMR), Emergency Medical Aid (EMR) division, and key central authorities hospitals.
Referring to official sources, information company PTI had acknowledged that the majority energetic instances are gentle and no hospitalisation is required at current. The ministry underlined that although surveillance and monitoring have been stepped up, there was no suggestion of a large-scale resurgence at this level.
Regional Rise Spurs Warning
The evaluation comes amid rising concern over rising COVID-19 instances in Singapore and Hong Kong, the place infections and hospitalisations have surged in current weeks because of new Omicron subvariants corresponding to JN.1 and its descendants. Singapore noticed a 28% spike in weekly infections, rising from 11,100 instances in late April to 14,200 in early Might. Hong Kong, in the meantime, recorded 31 virus-related deaths within the week ending Might 3—its highest weekly toll in a yr.
India Not But In Hazard Zone, Say Specialists
India’s prime epidemiologist, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, emphasised the necessity for warning however dismissed panic. “COVID-19 has turn out to be endemic in India. There isn’t a trigger for alarm except there’s a vital enhance in hospitalisations or fatalities,” he stated in an interview with News18.
He additionally urged aged and immunocompromised individuals to observe COVID-appropriate behaviour, corresponding to hand hygiene, carrying of masks, and avoidance of crowded locations.
On vaccine readiness, Dr Gangakhedkar referred to GEMCOVAC-19, an mRNA vaccine in opposition to COVID-19 made by Pune’s Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, and which is formulated to hit Omicron variants. “India can scale up manufacturing if want arises,” he stated, and present developments don’t steered that they should scale up instantly.
Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu Lead Case Rely
Amongst Indian states, Kerala has the very best variety of new instances reported since Might 12 (69), adopted by Maharashtra (44) and Tamil Nadu (34). Different states together with Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Sikkim have reported low single-digit numbers.
Hospitals have been advised to extend surveillance of flu-like sickness (ILI) and extreme acute respiratory infections (SARI). Surveillance actions are ongoing beneath the Built-in Illness Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and ICMR community.
Authorities Emphasises Pre-Emptive Actions
The Union Well being Ministry acknowledged that it’s “vigilant and proactive” regardless of worldwide developments. “The scenario in India doesn’t appear to be alarming at current. Our preparedness and surveillance measures are robust,” a senior authorities official acknowledged.
Although analysts are nonetheless holding shut tabs on worldwide developments, India has seemingly dodged the severity of spikes in different areas of Asia in the interim.