Covid surge in Asia sparks concern about emergence of more infectious variants
India, Thailand, Indonesia, and several other countries in Asia have seen a surge in Covid cases since mid-May, sparking concerns about the emergence of more infectious variants of the novel coronavirus.
India, which currently has more than 5,700 active Covid cases, reported four deaths from the infection over the last 24 hours.
Although hospitalisations due to Covid remain low, India's health ministry is urging the public to remain careful, get tested quickly when symptoms appear, and continue to use masks in crowded spaces.
In Thailand, hundreds of Covid patients have required hospitalisation since the beginning of June, while at least one has succumbed to the virus. The country reported 28,300 cases over just the first two days of this month, with the Bangkok metropolitan area accounting for the bulk of them.
According to the Department of Disease Control, at least 70 people have died from Covid in the Southeast Asian country so far in 2025, mostly in large cities. The death rate has hovered around 0.106 per 100,000 people, suggesting the virus has not become deadlier.
Indonesia has advised its healthcare institutions to remain vigilant and boost Covid surveillance amid a surge in infections attributed to new highly transmissible but less deadly variants of the coronavirus.
"Cases are indeed increasing, but the rise is caused by variants that are relatively less deadly,' health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told reporters earlier this week.
Health authorities are monitoring Omicron subvariants LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 for driving the ongoing surge in infections in Asia.
These strains are not yet labelled as variants of concern but are only suspected to be causing an increase in Covid cases.
The NB.1.8.1 subvariant has previously been reported in Thailand, Australia, China, Britain and the US. It's already known to be a recombinant virus formed from the merging of two coronavirus variants.
Lara Herrero, a virologist from Griffith University in Australia, suspects that NB.1.8.1 spread more easily than other variants.
Studies of the variant on cultured laboratory tissues reveal that the new strain has the strongest ability to bind to human cell receptors, facilitating its entry into cells. 'Using lab-based models, researchers found NB.1.8.1 had the strongest binding affinity to the human ACE2 receptor of several variants tested, suggesting it may infect cells more efficiently than earlier strains,' Dr Herrero wrote last month in The Conversation.
Fatigue, sore throat, nasal congestion, and gut discomfort are widely reported to be the main symptoms of infection by the new strains.
According to the World Health Organisation, current Covid vaccines should protect against severe symptoms caused by the newly reported variants.
In India, though, nearly 50 per cent of the new infections are still caused by the older JN.1 strain, according to data from the country's SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium.
Most people who get infected experience only mild symptoms that disappear on their own or with over-the-counter drugs such as cough medicines, analgesics and decongestants.
However, vulnerable groups such as the elderly or those with comorbid conditions are being urged to seek hospital care if symptoms appear.
Healthcare experts urge infected individuals experiencing shortness of breath, extreme fatigue or blood oxygen levels below 95 per cent to immediately seek medical attention.
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