India sees mild surge in COVID cases; 'no cause for alarm', say health experts

Situation in India

As per the latest update on India's COVID dashboard, a total of 257 active COVID-19 cases have been reported across various states.

Also read: India reports slight increase in COVID cases amid new wave in Asia

Kerala has the highest number of active cases with 95 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu with 66 cases and Maharashtra with 56. Karnataka reported 13 active cases, while Puducherry has 10 cases, Gujarat has seven cases, Rajasthan has 2 and Sikkim, Haryana, West Bengal reported one case each.

The experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, Emergency Medical Relief division, Disaster Management Cell, Indian Council of Medical Research, and central government hospitals held a review meeting this week under the chairpersonship of the director general of health services regarding the surge in cases of COVID.

Pointing out that the numbers remain very low considering the population, the officials concluded that the COVID situation in the country currently remains under control.

Kerala holds meeting

Kerala, which records the highest number of 95 active cases in the country conducted a meeting of the state-level Rapid Response Team (RRT) to assess the public health situation in the state.

Also read: Kerala has reported 182 Covid cases in May so far: Health minister

A total of 182 COVID cases have been reported in Kerala in the month of May. Of these, 57 cases were from Kottayam district, 34 from Ernakulam, and 30 from Thiruvananthapuram.

"Those showing symptoms have been instructed to undergo COVID testing. Directions have also been issued to ensure the availability of RT-PCR kits and other safety equipment. The Omicron JN.1 sub-variants spreading in South-East Asia—such as LF.7 and NB.1.8—have a higher transmission rate, though they are not more severe. Self-care and immunity are key," said health minister Veena George in a public statement.

Masks mandatory

She added that people showing symptoms like cold, sore throat, cough, or breathing difficulties must wear masks.

"It is advisable for the elderly, pregnant women, and those with serious health conditions to wear masks in public places and while travelling. Masks are mandatory in hospitals. Healthcare workers must wear masks without fail. Unnecessary hospital visits should be avoided. Frequent handwashing with soap is recommended. Treatment should be provided following protocol at the hospital where the patient is admitted. It is inappropriate for some private hospitals to refer patients elsewhere simply upon confirming a COVID diagnosis," George pointed out.

Surveillance intensifies

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu health department is also monitoring all cases of influenza like illness and SARI cases in around 4,000 institutions on a daily basis. There is a strict surveillance mechanism in place in the state. The officials from Tamil Nadu health department also stated that there is intensified surveillance of the cases being reported and there is no significant surge.

Tamil Nadu Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam told The Federal that there is no need to panic about COVID resurgence.

Also read: COVID-19 cases spike again in Singapore, Hong Kong. Cause of concern for India?

In a population of around 7.8 crore in the state, around 10 cases will not be a cause of concern, he stressed. In a public awareness video, Dr Selvavinayagam said that COVID is not a cause of concern unless it is virulent, large numbers of people are affected, deaths are reported or in-patients count is increasing.

"This is not the case now. Neither WHO nor the Union Health Ministry has released any advisory on COVID-19," he stated.

Officials from the Tamil Nadu Health Department said that they are closely monitoring all viruses including COVID through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal. The state has adequate infrastructure in hospitals and the health system is always ready to tackle the cases.

'Harmless'

As per the weekly communicable disease report published by the World Health Organization earlier this month, he said that the South Asian countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Thailand have reported very low numbers of COVID-19 community transmission.

A senior virologist Jacob John told The Federal, "When the pandemic broke out, a lot of people predicted that it can die out when the Wuhan virus was predominant. Then other strains such as alpha, beta and delta were reported. Later Omicron took over but it doesn't cause severe organ damage, bleeding, pneumonia or other severe illnesses. Omicron is like a common flu, which causes cold and cough. It has become endemic and has a presence all over the world and we need to learn to live with it. Viruses that cause respiratory illnesses can cause severe illnesses in people with comorbid conditions and there can be periodical increase, so such people need to exercise caution. However, the Omicron variant is relatively harmless."

Also read: Maharashtra health dept: 2 COVID-19 deaths since Jan, 68 under treatment

Maharashtra on full alert

With Maharashtra reporting 56 cases, the majority from Mumbai, deputy CM Eknath Shinde told the reporters on Wednesday that the state health department is on full alert. He assured that there's no need to panic over rising COVID-19 cases and the government is fully prepared.

Public health experts say that despite the mild surge, there's no cause of concern as the viral infections continue to circulate in the environment and are here to stay.

There has been no new COVID variant that has been reported in India so far.

Nothing to worry about

Public health and policy expert Chandrakant Lahariya, speaking to The Federal said that there is nothing to worry about the recent surge in COVID cases being reported in other countries.

"It is the same JN.1 variant that has been prevalent for more than two years now and this is not of a major concern. SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus and like other viruses of the same nature, such as influenza, this will keep circulating in the environment for a long time," he said.

Further, he added that the impact of the virus is not severe and the illness due to the same remains low and high immunity levels are also a contributing factor. The surge in flu cases is common in the month of February-March and during the rainy season.

"The periodical surge in cases of viral infections is common and the same can be expected for COVID. In India, the recent surge could be because of the increase in testing, the actual numbers could vary. The surge could also be because of the increased focus on testing," he added.

No new variant

With several messages circulating over social media platforms speculating a significant surge in the cases of COVID and travel restrictions being imposed, the health experts warn to stay cautious of misinformation.

Stating that there is no reason for worry, COVID analyst Vijayanand said that there is no new COVID variant identified that is causing the spread in Singapore and Hong Kong. It's still the Omicron sublineage of JN.1.11.1 (24H) that causes regional increase, he wrote on X.

"We have seen JN.1 causing a surge in the cases in the last 2 years. The current spike in the cases will subside in the next few weeks," he told The Federal.