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 health-care systems.
Singapore’s infections almost doubled in the final week of March to the highest rate 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 has been vaccinated or had prior infections, and governments have counseled that new coronavirus waves are to be expected from time to time after the pivot to living with COVID-19 and dismantling many curbs.