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Singapore reported 11,732 new Covid-19 cases as of 12pm on Tuesday (Oct. 11).
This is more than double of what was reported the day before on Oct. 10, when there were 4,719 new Covid-19 cases.
Covid-19 situation in Singapore on Oct. 11, 2022
Here's a breakdown of the cases:
Locally transmitted cases: 11,399
Imported cases: 333
Deaths: 2
The country has recorded 1,969,648 Covid-19 cases and 1,634 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
ART cases
New infections detected via ART: 10,985 (10,672 local cases + 313 imported cases)
Week on week infection ratio: 1.73
A figure below 1 indicates that the number of new weekly Covid-19 cases is falling.
Hospitalisations
Patients in hospital: 490
Requiring oxygen supplementation: 50
In ICU: 11
Unsure if Singapore experiencing new wave
Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said on Oct. 10 that he had expected the doubling in Covid-19 cases as it was a Tuesday, or what he called "a dreaded day of the week".
Speaking at the Yale-NUS College President's Speaker Series, Ong said Singapore tends to see a spike, usually double, in Covid-19 cases on Tuesdays due to people socialising over the weekend.
He said the authorities are keeping an eye on the reinfection rates. A reinfection rate of 50 per cent could signal a new wave of Covid-19 cases in Singapore, Ong said.
Increase driven by XBB
Separately, the Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a statement on Oct. 11 stating that the increase in local cases is driven by the Omicron subvariant XBB.
Despite this, MOH said there is no evidence that XBB is causing more severe illness, adding that the number of of severe cases has remained relatively low, likely due to the resilience built up by a high vaccination rate and previous infections.
So far, a large majority of patients, especially those vaccinated, are reporting mild symptoms, such as sore throat or slight fever.
"There have been rumours circulating via WhatsApp that Singapore is having a rapid and large increase in cases with severe illness and deaths due to the circulating XBB strain. This is not true. We are initiating POFMA action against such falsehoods," MOH stated.
MOH added that while the number of cases in ICU and who need oxygen supplementation us higher than the past few months, it is lower than the numbers experienced during the peaks of the previous Delta and Omicron waves. MOH is closely monitoring the trajectory of cases.
However, hospitals' Emergency Departments (ED) remain busy and MOH encouraged members of the public not to rush there unless they are experiencing an emergency medical condition.
ED resources will be prioritised for patients who need the medical care while those who walk into an ED with non-emergency conditions, including children, will be diverted to other urgent care clinics or primary care clinics for further assessment.
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Top image by Fasiha Nazren