According to Minister of Health (MOH) Ong Ye Kung, there is no need to impose any more restrictions, such as a requirement for wearing face masks, as the most recent wave of COVID-19 cases in Singapore may have crested.
“We might have a slight surge, but I think more or less we are seeing the peak of this wave,” Ong was quoted by Channel News Asia on Friday during the soft launch of a health campus in Woodlands, northern Singapore. The minister did note that there is a considerable strain on the system because of the 600–700 hospital beds that COVID-19 patients occupy.
“Our system has 10,000 beds in total. That makes up 6.7 percent, which is not insignificant, to occupy 600 or 700 beds. Despite the heavy demand on our healthcare staff and system, Ong stated, “I believe that we can handle this without the need for additional SMMs (safe management measures).”
“The indications are that we have plateaued,” he stated, pointing out that the estimated numbers of infections had decreased during the last three days. Hospitalization and the need for critical care, according to experts, always follow infections. Infections have been increasing for the past four weeks, going from 10,726 in the week of November 12–18 to 58,300 in the week of December 10–16.
Associate Professor Alex Cook of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore cautioned, “We have to remember that severe cases will typically peak after the mild cases peak, so even if the peak cases have already come, we may need to wait a while before the impact on the healthcare system starts to get better.”
Cook was reported by The Straits Times as saying, “Just because the cases dipped does not mean the wave has peaked, and the wave isn’t over until cases have come down again.” While acknowledging that there may be opportunities for the virus to spread throughout the Christmas and New Year holidays, Minister Ong urged Singaporeans to take personal responsibility by remaining at home when ill, using masks, and maintaining up to date on immunizations.
He said that because they are more susceptible, elderly and people with underlying medical conditions should have their immunization once a year. According to Ong, MOH will try to increase vaccination availability by having the COVID-19 vaccine be a part of the Healthier SG initiative and by expanding the number of general practitioners (GPs) who administer it.
In Singapore, the anticipated daily number of COVID-19 cases based on a seven-day moving average has been declining recently. On December 17, there were 7,730 instances, but on December 19, there were 6,820 cases, and finally 6,530 cases. He claimed a lot of people had urged him to bring back the mask law, particularly for use on public transit.
He stated that although Singapore will enforce it if needed, “we can withstand this without additional safe-distancing measures” for this wave. The minister nevertheless urged everyone to “stay at home and wear a mask when you’re sick.”
“Wear a mask if you must come into contact with someone.” The necessity of receiving a current Covid-19 vaccine “at least once a year, especially if you are senior and have underlying conditions” was emphasized by the seven-day moving average predicted daily number of COVID-19 cases in Ong. According to him, this is required because the vaccine’s effects fade off in one to 1.5 years (18 months).
