Singapore ministry said the estimated number of Covid-19 cases nearly doubled from 13,700 in previous week to 25,900 in the week of May 5 to 11.
The Singapore government is closely monitoring a new surge in Covid-19 infections, as the estimated weekly case count almost doubled in the week ending May 11. Health minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday advised the wearing of masks again.
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Singapore‘s ministry of health stated that the government was closely tracking the trajectory of the new wave. According to the ministry, the estimated number of the Covid-19 cases nearly doubled from 13,700 in the previous week to 25,900 in the week of May 5 to 11.
The ministry reported that average daily Covid-19 hospitalisations increased from 181 to approximately 250 during the same period. To preserve hospital bed capacity, public hospitals have been instructed to reduce non-urgent elective surgeries and transfer appropriate patients to care facilities.
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“We are at the beginning part of the wave where it is steadily rising,” health minister Ong Ye Kung said, according to a Straits Times report.
He added, “The wave should peak in the next two to four weeks, which means between mid- and end-June.”
Ong also encouraged those at highest risk of disease—including individuals aged 60 and above, medically vulnerable individuals, and residents of aged care facilities—to get an additional dose of the Covid-19 vaccine if they have not been vaccinated in the past 12 months.
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Speaking about social restrictions Ong said there were no plans for any form of social restrictions as of now, as Covid-19 is treated as an endemic disease in Singapore. The minister added that imposing additional measures would be a last resort.
Ong, however, accepted the fact that Singapore, being a transport and communications hub, will be one of the cities that experience a wave of Covid-19 earlier than others.
“So Covid-19 is just something that we have to live with. Every year, we should expect one or two waves,” he said.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
