Browsing: Covid-19

Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore, are witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, which is putting immense pressure on their healthcare systems. This increase in cases is attributed to factors such as recent holiday gatherings and an ageing population. As a result, hospitals in the region are grappling with overcrowded facilities and acute medical staff shortages.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in the Philippines recently recommended the extension of Alert Level 2 enforcement in 26 areas until the end of April 2023 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This decision was made to prevent the further spread of the virus in the affected areas. Let us take a closer look at this story from a medical perspective.

This article discusses the XBB1.16 subvariant of COVID-19, which has been linked to conjunctivitis in children. A new COVID-19 subvariant called XBB1.16, also known as Arcturus has been detected globally and recently gained more attention globally as it has just arrived in North America and Europe. It is also potentially linked to conjunctivitis in children.

Infection rates have risen in Singapore, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, among others. But the good news is that the highly transmissible omicron variant of the virus that is causing the surge in cases, is not resulting in widespread severe illness.

This medical news article reports on two incidents where a clinic in Hong Kong administered expired COVID-19 vaccines to patients. The Department of Health has launched an investigation, suspended the clinic’s vaccination service, and provided advice to improve vaccine management procedures. No discomfort has been reported by affected individuals, and no re-vaccination is needed, according to local experts.