If there were any doubts about Covid-19’s ability to resurrect itself and spread again in this part of the world, we now have solid proof: Not only are we witnessing a spike in the number of new cases, but we also have a new variant. Nepal on Monday confirmed the presence of Omicron’s sub-variant XBB.1.16. Of the 24 swab samples tested through whole-genome sequencing—an analysis of the entire DNA sequence of an organism’s genes—10 showed traces of the new variant. Suspected to be behind the recent spike in Covid-19 transmissions and deaths in neighbouring India, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified it as a variant to watch.

At a time when global cases and deaths are on the decline, the WHO has said, the rise of the XBB.1.16, which is slowly replacing other variants in India, is a cause for concern as it has the potential to morph and become even more transmissible and severe. That India recorded 3,824 new cases on Sunday, the biggest single-day jump in six months, points to the risk Nepal is exposed to as the open borders give a free pass to the virus. The southern neighbour also saw the death of five patients from coronavirus complications, which should keep us on our toes. Meanwhile, other versions continue to make their presence felt in Nepal, with the government reporting the detection of XBB.1.5, XBB.2.6, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.5, BA.5.2 and BA.2.76 variants in the various swab samples. On Monday, the total Covid-19 cases stood at 227, with 49 new patients testing positive in polymerase chain reaction tests and 27 new patients testing positive in antigen tests in 24 hours. As most of these cases were accidental findings, the actual number of the infected could be much-much higher. Worryingly, around 15 percent of the samples tested are now returning positive results.

The only comforting news is that after months of dilly-dallying, the government has resumed its vaccination drive after receiving Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent Covid-19 vaccine via the COVAX facility, with 28,703 people getting jabbed on Monday. Although over 95 percent of the target population has received the full dose of the vaccines against coronavirus, we have arguably expended the immunity they provided. There has been little enthusiasm to get booster doses, and the citizens remain unconvinced. This is a matter of concern, considering how the cases have spiked suddenly. The government should double down on awareness campaigns and expedite the inoculation drive to administer as many booster shots as possible at the earliest.

Doctors suspect infections are already growing at an “exponential” rate. The highest level of caution is warranted. Meanwhile, citizens must go back to following the sort of safety precautions they did three years ago—and they must get immediately tested if they have flu-like symptoms. Extreme vigilance is the only way to keep us and our families safe from this potentially lethal scourge. As Nepal’s earlier experiences have shown, we have little to fall back on in case things go out of hand. The government has in the past failed to provide the most basic amenities such as beds and oxygen cylinders, even as patients gasped for breath in hospital corridors. It’s past the time we ditched our false sense of security.