Singapore Faces Record Surge in COVID-19 Cases: Ministry of Health Urges Stronger Mask-Wearing
Singapore witnessed a record rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the first week of December, after which the Ministry of Health (MOH) released a statement “strongly encouraging” people to wear a mask.
The Covid-19 cases rose to 56,043, between Dec 3 to 9, which was 75 per cent more than what was recorded in the previous week at 32,035.
The average daily hospitalisations rose from 225 to 350 whereas the average daily cases in the intensive care unit spiked from four to nine.
The Singapore government said that the dominant variant reported in the majority of cases was JN.1, which was a sublineage of BA.2.86.
“Based on the available international and local data, there is currently no clear indication that BA.2.86 or JN.1 are more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other circulating variants,” MOH said in a statement.
The ministry also urged people to exercise personal and social responsibility stating that people who are down with acute respiratory infection symptoms should refrain from contact with others and stay at home.
“We urge the public to seek medical treatment at a hospital’s emergency department only for serious or life-threatening emergencies,” stressed the ministry.
“This will preserve our hospital capacity for patients who truly need acute hospital care and allow those with severe illness to receive timely treatment.”
Measures taken by government
The MoH, as per the Straits Times, amid the grave situation, announced its plan to open a Covid-19 treatment facility at Singapore Expo Hall 10 in the coming weekend to increase the number of beds for patients.
“To preserve our healthcare capacity, MOH has been working with public hospitals for contingency planning, including ensuring adequate manpower and deferring of non-urgent electives to maximise bed capacity for urgent cases in need of acute care,” according to the statement.
Singapore’s health ministry also said in a statement that it was working with the hospitals to devise contingency planning in order to provide patients with immediate care.
“In addition, hospitals are tapping on step-down facilities like Transitional Care Facilities and alternative care models like Mobile Inpatient Care@Home (MIC@Home) to ensure proper right-siting of patients,” MOH said.
