Vietnam's capital reports 150 new Covid-19 cases in past week
Hanoi: Vietnamese capital Hanoi confirmed 150 new Covid-19 cases in the city from May 30 to June 6, slightly down from the previous week, reports said.
Since the beginning of 2025, the capital city has recorded 558 infections, a decrease of 109 cases compared to the same period last year, the report said.
The Hanoi Centre for Disease Control has requested local units to strengthen public communication on Covid-19 and other seasonal diseases, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Vietnam News Agency.
Meanwhile, Covid cases are once again on the rise in India, with 5,364 active cases currently reported and four deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.
Since January 1, more than 4,700 people in India have recovered from the virus, while 55 fatalities have been reported during this period.
The primary driver of the recent surge is a new coronavirus variant known as NB.1.8.1, a subvariant of Omicron. This strain has been detected in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Thailand, China, and Hong Kong.
NB.1.8.1 was first identified in January 2025 and is classified as a "recombinant" variant—meaning it emerged through the genetic mixing of two or more previous strains.
On May 23, 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated NB.1.8.1 as a "Variant Under Monitoring" (VUM). According to the WHO's 2023 definition, a VUM is a variant that has undergone genetic changes that may affect the virus's characteristics. Early data suggests that NB.1.8.1 may spread more easily or grow faster than other variants, though this has yet to be confirmed.
The impact of NB.1.8.1 on health, immunity, and transmission is still being studied. However, lab-based models indicate that the strain binds more efficiently to human cell receptors, suggesting it may infect cells more effectively than earlier variants.
Common symptoms associated with NB.1.8.1 include sore throat, cough, fever, muscle aches, and nasal congestion. Some patients also report gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhoea.
Despite the emergence of this new strain, health experts emphasise that vaccines continue to offer strong protection against infection, severe illness, hospitalisation, and death.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Indian Express
29 new Covid cases in Pune
Pune district on Monday reported 29 new Covid-19 cases, of which 26 were from the city, two from Pimpri Chinchwad, and one from the Pune rural area. As per state health department data, a total of 65 new cases were reported in Maharashtra Monday. The state has conducted a total of 17,292 Covid tests since January 2025, of which 1,504 patients are confirmed positive with the infection. Till Monday, 873 patients have recovered. The state health department officials said that patients had mild symptoms. Since January 2025, till date, 18 patients who had tested positive for Covid 19 died and majority of them had comorbid health conditions. Instructions have been given to all officers at divisional level, district and municipal corporations towards regular surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARI) patients. As per the directives, five per cent of ILI patients and all SARI patients should be tested for Covid-19 while all positive samples should be sent for Whole Genome Sequencing.
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
No need to panic, but mask up for safety: Collector on Covid
Trichy: The present Covid-19 wave is a sub-variant of Omicron and it is not expected to be virulent, but people can mask up in crowded places as a precautionary measure, said district collector M Pradeep Kumar. He was talking to reporters on Monday after a routine inspection of the warehouse where the electronic voting machines are kept. "It is necessary for us to be safe and wear masks in public places. There is no need to fear Covid," he said. On desilting of waterbodies before the opening of the Mettur dam, the collector said, "With the water being released on June 12, desilting work has been carried out in canals and channels measuring a total of 389km long in Trichy district. Arrangements are being made to dredge C and D category canals under the 100-day employment scheme." On illegal posters in Trichy, he said, "Special spots have been set up in the city for putting up posters. If posters are pasted on school and college walls, they will be removed, and appropriate action will be taken."
The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Health dept. reiterates steps to prevent COVID-19 transmission
The Health department has reiterated the public health alert that people take adequate personal protection to prevent themselves from contracting COVID-19. Masking in public places as well as in closed spaces like auditoriums are important to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, especially since the LF.7, the new variant in circulation, which is a sublineage of Omicron, is highly transmissible. The OP clinics and emergency rooms in many hospitals have begun to show an uptick in the number of people coming with respiratory infections. Though most are mild cases, cases with secondary bacterial infections, requiring antibiotics, have also been going up. Testing has gone up in both private sector as well as public sector hospitals, following a Health department directive that all cases with respiratory symptoms be tested so that influenza cases (which can benefit from early treatment with antivirals) can be separated from COVID-19 cases. Masking must in hospitals Masking and maintaining cough etiquette are extremely important to prevent disease transmission. Masking is mandatory in hospitals so that they do not turn into transmission centres for COVID-19. All hospitals have also been instructed to strictly adhere to infection control practices. Pregnant women and people with comorbidities, especially uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension, should take the masking mandate seriously, Health Minister Veena George said here. Testing goes up She said that COVID-19 cases are going up in Kerala because testing has been increased across districts. According to the Health ministry's data, of the 6,491 active cases in the country (as on June 9), 1,957 are in Kerala. However, only about 80 persons are hospitalised, Ms. George said. The Health authorities are keeping a close watch on hospitalisations and ICU admissions across districts and these seem to be stable, officials said.
