WHO Covid update urges precaution but says not a cause for worry
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "WHO Covid update urges precaution but says not a cause for worry")
The recent Covid cases are a departure from the regular respiratory virus behaviour, which usually increases during colder months.
COVID-19 cases have been on the rise across the world, including India. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there SARS-CoV-2 virus has been active globally since mid-February 2025 and the number has only been increasing.
What causes a little concern is that the Covid positivity test rate has reached 11%, which is the highest since July 2024, according to the WHO data. India's active Covid cases stood at 1,010 on May 27 with numbers only rising further.
WHO Covid update
Two Covid-19 variants, NB.1.8.1 and LF.7 are behind the surge in numbers.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as “Variants Under Monitoring”, not as “Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest”.
“Considering the available evidence, the additional public health risk posed by NB.1.8.1 is evaluated as low at the global level,” the WHO said.
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The NB.1.8.1, according to WHO poses low public health risk globally but has the capability to increase transmissibility and immune evasion as it carries spike protein mutations—A435S, V445H, and T478I.
So far there is no evidence of both the variants causing more severe disease or higher mortality compared to previous strains.
However, the recent Covid cases are a departure from typical respiratory virus behaviour, which usually increases during colder months. There has been a slight deviation, the virus is now showing its capabilities of spreading and causing illness even during the summer months.
Covid cases in India
Total coronavirus cases in India reached 1010 on May 27 with the bulk of cases reported from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Kerala alone has recorded 400 cases, while spike has also been observed in Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported its first death due to Covid on Wednesday (May 28). A 40-year-old patient died due to the virus at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh. The patient originally was from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh.
