Hong Kong, Singapore on high alert as Covid-19 cases spike

Singapore and Hong Kong health authorities have warned that Covid-19 cases are spiking, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

According to the head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the city’s Centre for Health Protection, Albert Au, the virus’s activity in Hong Kong is now “quite high”. Au added that the percentage of respiratory samples testing Covid-positive in Hong Kong recently reached its highest in a year.

The centre's data showed that severe cases reached their highest level in about a year, at 31, in the week through 3 May. Also, the resurgence has yet to match the infection peaks of the previous two years. The rising viral load found in sewage water and Covid-related medical consultations and hospitalisations suggest the virus is actively spreading in the city of over 7 million people.

Singapore cases surge:

In its first update on infection numbers in almost a year, this month, the city’s state health ministry estimated the number of Covid-19 cases jumped 28 per cent to 14,200 in the week through May 3 from the previous seven days, while daily hospitalisation rose around 30 per cent.

Experts predict that the increase in cases may have occurred due to factors including waning population immunity, but Singapore's health ministry said there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible.

The hike in two of Asia’s most significant cities comes as Covid-19 has risen across the region in the past few months, with waves of the now-endemic disease swelling periodically. Health authorities have called on people to update their vaccinations, reminding high-risk individuals to get booster shots.

Unlike other respiratory pathogens, Covid-19’s comeback as the northern hemisphere enters summer shows the virus can still sicken a large swath of the population even when the weather is hot.

Earlier, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan also came down with Covid-19 as he had to cancel his concerts in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, scheduled for later this week. Bloomberg quoted the concert’s official account on Chinese social media Weibo as saying.

According to data from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, China is on track to see a Covid-19 wave reach last year’s summer peak. In the five weeks through 4 May, the Covid-19 test positivity rate more than doubled among patients seeking a diagnosis at hospitals across the mainland.

However, Thailand’s Department of Disease Control has reported that there have been two cluster outbreaks this year.

With agency inputs.