SINGAPORE – Fifteen out of every hundred people here with Covid-19 have already been infected, and that could be another wave if the number of cases rises in the coming days.
Giving the figures on the evening of Monday, October 10, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the government was tracking whether the country was experiencing another giant wave of Covid-19 cases by analyzing reinfection rates.
He said: “Currently, the reinfection rate is around 15%, which means that out of every hundred people infected, 15 are currently contracting it.
“If you start seeing 50%, do it in a moment, you’ll have a wave. “
Ong spoke about his experience in fighting the pandemic and justifying covid-19 measures in Singapore in the Yale-NUS President’s series of public lectures, featuring key global figures.
The government’s decision to overcome the pandemic through the easing of quarantine rules in October 2021 was decisive, which came as the Delta wave broke out, M. NGO said at Monday’s conference, held on campus.
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The release of another 40,000 people from quarantine with the simplification of regulations at the time was a “turning point” for Singapore, as vaccination rates increased thereafter and most other people here also took on the duty to self-isolate when necessary, he added.
Mr. Ong said, “With each wave, we had to open up and yet cross the wave. “
More than 4,000 cases were reported on Sunday and that could double to between 9,000 and 10,000 on Tuesday, which is the most feared day of the week, he said.
There is often an increase in the number of cases on Tuesdays, due to the socialization of other people on the weekend.
Commenting on the existing Covid-19 situation, Mr Ong said: “Hospitals will be getting busier and busier, healthcare staff will be tense and we want them as much as possible, but we will have to make our most productive to get through this. “
On Monday, 4,719 new Covid-19 infections were reported in Singapore.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission is required for reproduction.