​COVID and the new variants of the coronavirus have made it to the headline again. Singapore has recorded more than 56,000 COVID cases in just one week, forcing the government to issue an advisory for its citizens and travellers. As per the health ministry, an estimated number of 56,043 cases COVID-19 cases were recorded in the week of December 3 to 9 2023, rising from 32,035 cases in the previous week. Until now it is unclear whether JN.1 or other Omicron subvariants are driving the surge.​