Coronavirus: a fresh, but mild, Covid wave is rippling through Asia

A number of Asian nations are reporting an uptick in Covid-19 infections as the region treats the virus as endemic, with the fresh wave exerting limited pressure on healthcare systems.

Singapore’s infections almost doubled in the final week of March to the highest this year, data from the Ministry of Health showed. India reported its biggest single-day tally since late-August, while Indonesia’s daily caseload is near a four-month high and Vietnam is ramping up virus prevention measures.

While infections are rising, countries across Asia are attributing the wave to a mix of XBB subvariants – a highly transmissible Omicron strain that, so far, isn’t causing widespread severe illness. Most of the region’s population have been vaccinated or had prior infections and governments have counselled that new coronavirus waves are to be expected from time to time after the pivot to living with Covid-19 and dismantling many curbs.

In Singapore, which dropped most mask mandates in February due to the significantly reduced threat from Covid, weekly cases topped 28,000 by the end of March, up from 14,467 a week earlier.

India, which endured a fatal wave in 2021 that saw many hospitals run out of oxygen and beds, reported more than 10,150 new infections on Thursday. While hospitals and clinics haven’t seen a rise in admissions, the country has been conducting mock drills this week to check for preparedness and a handful of states have imposed new mask mandates.