Covid-19 infections are rising. Wear a mask if you’re vulnerable and don’t get anxious, say doctors

Around April 12 last year, India was reporting less than 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 a day. A year on, India on Wednesday notched up 7,830 new cases, according to a government update, a fairly high surge not seen in nearly a year.

But those numbers are no cause for panic, say virologists and medical experts.

More than three years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2019 and early 2020 upended the world, it is time to move on to “living with the virus”.

“There is nothing we can do except wear masks when there is a surge,” said Dr Gagandeep Kang, virologist and professor at the department of gastrointestinal sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore.

Doctors and epidemiologists have reiterated advice about Covid-19 being seasonal, but what does that mean for life going forward?

Uncertain pattern, new variants

According to Kang, the Sars-CoV-2 virus is only three years old and while it has become endemic, it has not yet become seasonal. Seasonal viruses follow a specific pattern and cause increased infections in particular weather conditions.

For instance, dengue and malaria cases increase during the monsoon while the H1N1 virus, which causes swine flu, spikes during winters.

“It is too early to define a pattern for this virus,” said Kang. “It will take a few...

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