The Covid-19 pandemic has returned to China, Thailand, and many other Asian countries.

The Covid-19 pandemic has returned to many Asian countries.

InThailandFrom January 1st to May 10th, over 53,000 cases of Covid-19 were recorded, including 16 deaths. Bangkok, the capital, had the highest number of cases, with over 16,000. The peak of the outbreak occurred in the week from April 27th to May 3rd, when the number of cases exceeded 14,000, but decreased to just over 12,000 the following week.

Thailand's Minister of Public Health, Somsak Thepsutin, said people don't need to worry too much, as Covid-19 is now classified as an endemic disease and mainly causes mild symptoms.

However, he still advised people to wear masks in public, get tested quickly if they have any suspected symptoms, and avoid contact with high-risk individuals if they are unfortunately infected.

According to Somsak, the rapid increase in infections recently may be due to the XBB.1.16 subvariant of Omicron and large gatherings during the Songkran water festival.

Although Covid-19 is still highly contagious, its level of danger has significantly decreased, and people should remain calm and proactively take preventive measures to protect public health.

InSingaporeThe number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise. In the week from April 27 to May 3, the number of cases reached 14,200, up from 11,100 the previous week. However, the number of cases requiring intensive care decreased slightly from 3 to 2, while the number of hospitalizations increased from 102 to 133.

InChinaOver the past two months, the number of Covid-19 infections has increased slightly. The positive rate among cases with flu-like symptoms increased from 7.5% to 16.2% between March 31 and May 4. For severe acute respiratory infections, the positive rate also increased from 3.3% to 6.3%.

The situation atHong KongMore seriously, within a month, the number of deaths from Covid-19 increased from 3 to 26. There were 75 severe cases among adults, mostly elderly people, with 85% over 65 years old and nearly 64% living in nursing homes. Notably, more than 95% of severe cases were people with underlying health conditions and had not received a booster dose of the vaccine in the past 6 months.

The positive rate in respiratory samples in Hong Kong has now reached 11.42%, the highest level in almost a year. In the past four weeks, there have been 32 outbreaks in nursing homes, affecting 177 people, the majority of whom were unvaccinated. In just the first two days of this week, the number of new outbreaks increased by five.

InTaiwanThe number of Covid-19 visits and emergency room visits nearly reached 10,000 in the week of May 4th to May 10th, a 66% increase compared to the previous week. This marks the fifth consecutive week of rising cases, and officials predict June will be the peak of the pandemic.

In the first week of May, Taiwan's CDC recorded 6 deaths and 34 severe cases. The number of new cases is currently equivalent to about 40% of last year's peak, indicating that the situation still needs to be closely monitored.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the XBB.1.16 subvariant of Omicron has been around since 2023. This variant is highly contagious, but there is currently no evidence to suggest it causes more severe symptoms. The WHO has not yet issued a new global alert regarding this variant.

The Covid-19 situation in Vietnam

From the beginning of 2025 to the present, Vietnam has recorded 148 cases of COVID-19 scattered across 27 provinces and cities. No deaths have been reported. Ho Chi Minh City has the highest number of cases with 34, followed by Hai Phong with 21 cases and Hanoi with 19 cases.

Several other localities such as Bac Ninh, Nghe An, and Quang Ninh also recorded a relatively high number of cases. However, no major outbreaks have occurred nationwide, and the number of cases has only increased slightly in the last three weeks, averaging about 20 cases per week.

Although the global pandemic is trending downward, the increase in cases in Bangkok, Thailand, after the Lunar New Year holiday has led many experts to warn of the possibility of an outbreak related to the XBB.1.16 subvariant, especially in situations involving large gatherings.

In response to the evolving epidemic, the Ministry of Health has proactively strengthened surveillance at healthcare facilities and in the community, while also implementing numerous preventive measures to limit its spread.

The Ministry of Health also advises people planning to travel from countries with high numbers of cases to monitor their health to protect themselves and the community. Vietnam will continue to cooperate closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to closely monitor the epidemic situation and implement appropriate prevention and control measures to minimize risks to the people.