While Indian health officers have reassured the general public that the situation within the United States of America continues to be strong and under their manipulate, Singapore and Hong Kong, amongst other parts of Asia, are battling a sharp surge of COVID-19 instances fueled by way of Omicron subvariants.
During a high-level assessment meeting chaired by the Health Ministry on Monday, officials presented a total of 257 active COVID-19 cases in the United States as of May 19, 2025. The assembly, presided over by the Director General of Health Services, had attendance by representatives of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Emergency Medical Relief (EMR) division, and key important government hospitals.
Citing official sources, news agency PTI said that almost all the active cases are mild and none require hospitalisation at the moment. The ministry underlined that even though surveillance and monitoring have been stepped up, there was no thought of a huge-scale resurgence at this point.
Regional Rise Spurs Caution
The review comes amid growing concern over rising COVID-19 cases in Singapore and Hong Kong, where infections and hospitalisations have surged in recent weeks due to new Omicron subvariants such as JN.1 and its descendants. Singapore saw a 28% spike in weekly infections, rising from 11,100 cases in late April to 14,200 in early May. Hong Kong, meanwhile, recorded 31 virus-related deaths in the week ending May 3—its highest weekly toll in a year.
India Not Yet In Danger Zone, Say Experts
India’s top epidemiologist, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, stressed the need for caution but dismissed the need to panic. “COVID-19 has become a pandemic in India. There is no cause for alarm unless there is a significant increase in hospitalisations or fatalities,” he said in an interview with News18.
He also urged elderly and immunocompromised persons to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, such as hand hygiene, wearing of masks, and avoidance of crowded places.
Speaking about vaccine preparations, Dr Gangakhedkar mentioned GemCovac-19, an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 manufactured by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, and designed to kill the Omicron variant. “India can scale up production if need arises,” he said, and existing trends do not suggest that they need to scale up immediately.
Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu Lead Case Count
Among Indian states, Kerala has reported the highest number of new cases (69) since May 12, followed by Maharashtra (44) and Tamil Nadu (34). Other states, along with Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Sikkim, have mentioned low single-digit numbers.
Hospitals were instructed to enhance surveillance for flu-like infections (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). Surveillance of sports is ongoing under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and the ICMR network.
Government Emphasises Pre-Emptive Actions
The Union Health Ministry stated that it is “vigilant and proactive” despite international developments. “The situation in India does not seem to be alarming at present. Our preparedness and surveillance measures are strong,” a senior government official stated.
Though analysts are still keeping close tabs on worldwide trends, India has seemingly dodged the severity of spikes in other areas of Asia for the time being.
