Merry Christ-mask season

It’s the season to be jolly once again but unfortunately, Covid is still very much around us, especially during the Christmas season. The World Health Organization has declared a Covid-19 subvariant dubbed as JN.1 as a “variant of interest” as it appears to be more contagious than others and is driving new cases.

Variants of interest display genetic changes that can make them spread more quickly, like in the case of the JN.1 subvariant which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the cause of about 21 percent new Covid-19 infections in the United States – making it the dominant version of the virus.

Experts call the JN.1 a “granddaughter” of the “Pirola” subvariant which was first noticed over the summer because it displayed more then 30 changes to its spike proteins, which are the means for the coronavirus to enter human cells and cause infections. There are indications that the JN.1 could become the leading variant across the globe in a matter of weeks – with countries in Europe such as Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain and the Netherlands showing a rapid increase in cases along with rising hospitalizations. This spike in cases has also been noted in Australia, Canada and countries in Asia that include Singapore, which reported over 56,000 cases of Covid-19 during the period covering Dec. 3 to 9, according to reports.

In the Philippines, the DOH’s Covid-19 tracker showed an increase in the number of active cases, mostly in the National Capital Region. The rising number of cases has prompted the Department of Labor and Employment to encourage companies all over the country to shift to the work-from-home setup and adopt other measures to protect workers and prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

Those who experience Covid-19 symptoms are also urged to undergo voluntary swab testing just to be on the safe side. The Octa Research group also noted that one in every five people in NCR who have undergone the RT-PCR swab test have shown positive results. Citing data from the DOH, Octa says the seven-day positivity rate has increased to 21 percent as of Dec. 17 compared to 13.4 percent a week earlier.

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