Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has warned its staff, students and faculty to be mindful of COVID-appropriate behaviours and measures, as cases report a spike in several countries across the globe.

The Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, on December 20, issued a notification citing the increase in COVID-19 cases in countries such as China, Brazil, Japan, the United States of America (USA) and South Korea. It directs states to "gear up genome sequencing of positive case samples" to track the variants of the virus through the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network. "Such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate the undertaking of requisite public health measures for the same," said the government. 

A tweet from JNU's official handle read, "JNU VC Prof Santishree D. Pandit requests the students,  staff and faculty to be careful and follow COVID appropriate behaviour," in light of the alert issued by the government. 

Cases have seen a spike in China, where the administration removed almost all COVID-19 restrictions, which were a part of the country's Zero COVID approach to the pandemic. Epidemiologists suggest that more than 60% of China's population is likely to be infected by COVID-19 across three waves during the winter, from December to March, and about two million are feared to succumb to the disease. 

However, the Government of China has now announced that it will only count death from respiratory tract failure as a COVID death, disregarding death from other chronic illnesses that might present themselves during a COVID-19 infection. Videos going viral on social media show hospitals and crematoriums in China overwhelmed by severe infections and a rising death toll.