Covid-19 cases on the rise in Singapore

 

A Singapore minister says while there is no need for the republic to return to stricter lockdown measures, further relaxations of restrictions will not be prudent. (AP pic)

PETALING JAYA: The number of daily Covid-19 cases in Singapore is expected to see a sharp spike soon, said the country’s health ministry today.

The Straits Times reported that from 76 two weeks ago, the average daily number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore had risen to 288 in the past week.

Speaking at a press conference, Singapore health minister Ong Ye Kung said the experience of other countries had demonstrated that transmission waves typically take four to eight weeks to peak before the numbers start to decline.

He noted that as Singapore was now 18 days – or two and a half weeks – into the current wave, the city-state was likely to see cases increase exponentially and potentially hit a peak of around 3,000 before they begin to stabilise.

Meanwhile, trade and industry minister Gan Kim Yong called the rise in Covid-19 cases worrying and said the next two to four weeks would determine whether higher infection numbers would lead to more serious cases and deaths.

Speaking at the same press conference, finance minister Lawrence Wong said while there was no need for the country to return to stricter lockdown measures, he stressed it was not prudent to press ahead with further relaxations of restrictions.

“During this period, especially when we are in the midst of an exponential rise in infection cases, that would be a reckless thing to do,” he was quoted as saying in The Straits Times.

The daily reported that in response to the surge in cases, Singapore would change the way it tracks and manages Covid-19 patients – with a focus on contact tracing and quarantine efforts on large clusters and vulnerable settings such as hospitals.

It also noted that growing infection numbers had made it difficult for contact tracers to track every case.

About 81% of Singapore’s population have been fully vaccinated, and Wong said the country would continue pushing for higher vaccine coverage while accelerating the rollout of booster shots and stepping up nationwide testing. - FMT