Some experts urge people to mask in the midst of increasing alarm about a new Covid variant – and fears for a summer wave of infections.
The NB.1.8.1 -Stame is already supposed to control a wave of infections in China, Hong Kong and Thailand – together with increases in hospital admissions.
In the US, less than 20 cases have been detected so far. But the tribe is discovered in travelers arriving in California, the state of Washington, Virginia and New York City, so that the fear is generated that it will spread quickly.
Lab tests suggest that the variant is more contagious than currently circulating tribes, which means that it can lead to a peak in infections and possibly hospital admissions.
In Hong Kong, civil servants are already urging people to mask, especially during public transport or in busy places.
And in the US Chatter starts to crawl over masks. Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatrician at the Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, said CBS News Today, everyone who feels a ‘small under the weather’ must wear a mask.
Another expert who calls for masks is Dr. Melanie Matheu, an immunologist from California who previously studied at the University of California, San Francisco.
She told her 336,000 Tiktok followers who have to scrape the US for a ‘summer wave’ worse than that of the previous year.
The above shows people who wear face masks in Bangkok in March of this year, Thailand – that is one of the countries that report an increase in Covid cases that are thought to be due to the new variant
NB.1.8.1 was named a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organization on Friday.
Patients who are sick with tension suffer from similar symptoms if they infected with other variants, say scientists, including fever, cough, sore throat and fatigue.
It is not clear how many deaths are included as a result of the variant.
In China, data shows that the share of seriously ill breathing patients with COVID has risen from 3.3 to 6.3 percent last month, while Chinese’s share of patients who tested positive for the disease has risen from 7.5 to 16.2 percent.
Civil servants in Taiwan also report an increase in the recordings of Covid, with figures that rise 78 percent in a week every seven days to 3 May, the latest data shows.
And in Hong Kong, the share of cotton wool that has a positive test for the virus has now reached a highest point in 12 months-by 13.66 percent of the samples used.
Dr. Edwards said, “If you are a bit under the weather, but good enough to be on the road, wear a mask.”
Advising on other strategies to control the virus, she said, “Good cough and sneezing hygiene, washing good hand, staying at home if you don’t feel good to prevent other people from catching what you have.”
Dr. Matheu added: ‘My advice would be the same about these variants.
“Make sure you get your updated booster, wear a mask – especially if you are vulnerable, high risk, live or work with anyone who is vulnerable or high risk – and make sure there is a good air circulation in your indoors and areas where you work.”
The above shows a hospital in China in January 2023. Many of the patients shown are elderly people and would suffer from Covid
The above image is also of the mysterious outbreak that China grabbed in January 2025
Authorities in Hong Kong have already encouraged people to wear face masks again in the midst of concern about the new variant.
In a statement on the website of the Hong Kong Department of Health, officials said: ‘High risk persons (eg persons with underlying medical conditions or persons who are immunocomromized) must wear surgical masks when visiting public places.
‘The general public must also wear a surgical mask when traveling on public transport or staying in busy places.
“When the breathing symptoms appear, one must wear a surgical mask, consider avoiding work or school, not to go to busy places and immediately ask medical advice.”
A spokeswoman for the CDC said that the agency was ‘aware’ of the new variant, but said that so far few things had been detected.
NB.1.8.1 was first detected in January of this year and is supposed to have originated somewhere in Asia.
To date, it has now spread to 22 countries and a total of 518 cases have been detected. There are no information about hospital admissions or deaths.
However, scientists say that the infection figures are probably an enormous underestimation – indicate that many are not testing for COVID now and that the government has largely reduced their COVID variant monitoring programs.
The share of cases caused by the variant is mating worldwide and is four times in the last month with available data. It was behind 2.5 percent of all COVID cases worldwide at the beginning of April, but towards the end of the month this had risen to 10.7 percent.
Travelers arriving in the US who were infected with the variant arrived from the following countries between 22 April and 12 May: China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, France, the Netherlands and Spain.
The variant is also detected in Hawaii, Rhode Island and Ohio.
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