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Singapore is currently in the midst of another Covid-19 infection wave, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said during his speech at the National Healthcare Group's population health collective annual work plan seminar on Friday (Apr. 14).
The estimated daily infection cases have gone up from 1,400 a month ago to about 4,000 daily cases in the last week, Ong said.
However, case numbers are still nowhere near the height of the pandemic, when more than 20,000 cases a day were reported.
While the number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients has also increased, from 80 to 220 over the past month, it is still much lower than the number of patients hospitalised due to non-Covid-19 infections, Ong added.
ICU admissions also remain stable and low, with less than 10 Covid-19 patients at any one time over the past month.
Ong said the ministry will continue sampling patients who displayed acute respiratory symptoms for testing and genetic sequencing, testing for viral fragments in wastewater samples throughout the island, and monitoring occupancy of hospital wards and Intensive Care Units (ICU) by Covid-19 patients.
"What is happening is a clear demonstration of how far we have come. Even during a Covid-19 infection wave, we continue to live life normally, not pre-occupied over infection numbers, and not constantly having to talk about it. This is what endemicity looks like," Ong said.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) estimates that more than 30 per cent of current infections to be re-infections, higher than the observed 20 per cent to 25 per cent during the last infection wave.
It is difficult to derive the number of influenza infections in a particular day or over a week, as most people choose to recover at home on their own and do not get tested, Ong said.
Not right to attribute wave to travellers
Ong also reiterated that it was incorrect to attribute the rise in infections to travellers coming to Singapore from overseas.
He said there are now multiple variants circulating in the community, without a clear dominant strain.
The variants in circulation in Singapore include XBB, XBB.1.5, XBB.1.9, XBB.1.16, XBB.2.3, BN.1, and CH.1.1.
There has been no evidence showing that any of the current XBB strains cause more severe illnesses, he said.
Ong added that in order not to add additional caseloads onto hospitals, he encouraged the public to stay home and wear a mask if unwell, and for the vulnerable and those aged 60 and above to get vaccinated annually.
Top photo via Unsplash