Explainers

December Blues: Is COVID-19 making a comeback amid holiday season?

Several Asian nations, including Singapore and Malaysia, have reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the past few weeks. Mask advisories have returned. Hospitalisations due to the infectious disease have surged in the US, while India’s Kerala is also seeing a spike

FP Explainers December 14, 2023 18:00:26 IST

Singapore is witnessing a spurt in COVID-19 cases again. Reuters File Photo

COVID-19 is not over yet. We had all but forgotten about the pandemic but recent flare-ups in some parts of the world have brought the focus back to the infectious disease. Several Asian nations are reintroducing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In China, some citizens are anxious about the government reinstating the stringent coronavirus curbs in the wake of a spike in respiratory illnesses.

Is COVID-19 making a comeback? Let’s take a closer look.

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Singapore, Malaysia see COVID-19 spike

Singapore has been reporting an uptick in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, the country’s Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement on 8 December.

In the week ending 2 December, the COVID-19 cases rose to 32,035 in the island nation, as compared to 22,094 cases the week before, according to The Straits Times report.

The MOH attributed the increase in infections to “a number of factors, including waning population immunity and increased travel and community interactions during the year-end travel and festive season”.

There has also been a rise in average daily hospitalisations and ICU admissions, reported Channel News Asia (CNA). The island nation is logging about 5,000 daily COVID-19 cases and the number could go up.

The JN.1 variant, a sublineage of BA.2.86, accounts for around 60 per cent of coronavirus cases in Singapore, reported Bloomberg.

Amid the recent surge, Singapore’s Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung has advised people to maintain good hygiene, wear masks outside, avoid contact with others, especially elderly, when unwell and get vaccinated once a year, according to CNA. 

In Malaysia, COVID-19 cases have nearly doubled, jumping to 6,796 in the week ending 2 December from 3,626 the previous week. The development comes just weeks ahead of year-end holidays and festivities.

On Wednesday (13 December), the country’s Ministry of Health asked people to wear masks when going out, while predicting a further spurt in infections amid an increase in travel and gatherings, reported Malay Mail.

China, Indonesia take preventive steps

China has again started testing people for COVID-19 in hospitals and transportation hubs amid a wave of respiratory diseases, as per reports.

Chinese authorities attribute the surge to the winter season, known pathogens, and COVID-19.

Recently, the education ministry directed schools across the country to ramp up prevention measures for influenza viruses and COVID. According to Time, there are also rumours on Chinese social media that the nationwide COVID-tracking app is being restored in some provinces.

This comes amid the Asian giant reeling from a pneumonia outbreak that has mostly hit children.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has reinstalled thermal body scanners at various international entry points, including Jakarta’s main international airport and Batam’s ferry terminal, as per The Straits Times newspaper report on Wednesday (13 December).

Indonesia’s health ministry issued a notice on 8 December, calling for greater vigilance amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in several Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Days later, the government urged Indonesians to “postpone travelling” to areas witnessing a COVID-19 spike, “complete their two-dose vaccination, wear masks and wash their hands and stay home should they fall sick”, reported Bloomberg.

In the island of Batam, thermal body scanners are expected to be set up at the five international ports this week, The Straits Times reported citing Batam’s port health official in charge of quarantine and epidemiological surveillance, Dr Romer Simanungkalit.

US reports more hospitalisations

As per US News & World Report, America recorded an upswing in hospitalisations due to COVID-19 over the week. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data showed that an estimated 22,500 hospitalisations were reported in the week ending 2 December, nearly 18 per cent spike from the week before.

According to the US health agency, the JN.1 variant currently accounts for over one-fifth of all COVID-19 cases. The infections remain high in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.

Speaking to USA TODAY, Dr Rebecca Wurtz, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health explained the reason behind this surge. “The narrative here is that JN.1 may be somewhat more contagious. Thanksgiving happened, winter is starting to happen, and that’s probably what caused it to jump like it did.”

According to the CDC, the rapid growth of the JN.1 variant suggests it could be “more transmissible or better at evading our immune systems”.

However, it said in its statement on 8 December that “there is no evidence that JN.1 presents an increased risk to public health relative to other currently circulating variants”.

What’s going on in India?

India saw a single-day rise of 252 new COVID-19 cases – the highest since 2 June this year, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Wednesday. The active coronavirus infections have increased to 1,091.

Kerala has reported a surge in COVID-19 cases, making up for more than 90 per cent of the new infections in the country, according to Times of India (TOI) report.

The southern state logged 479 cases in November, while 825 new infections were detected in the first eight days of December alone. Two infected people have lost their lives this month.

However, an expert told the newspaper that the infection is not too severe in most of the patients and deaths are rare.

With inputs from agencies