As Singapore’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it ”strongly encourages” people to wear a face mask in crowded places even if they are not ill, especially indoors or when visiting vulnerable people.
The ministry said on Friday that the estimated number of COVID-19 cases from December 3 to 9 increased to 56,043, a 75 per cent jump compared with 32,035 cases in the previous week.
The average number of COVID-19 hospitalizations increased from 225 to 350. The average number of cases in the intensive care unit rose from 4 to nine, Channel News Asia reported.
The vast majority are infected with the JN. 1 variant, a sublineage of BA. 2. 86.
“Based on available local and foreign data, there is ultimately no transparent indication that BA. 2. 86 or JN. 1 is more transmissible or causes more severe illness than other circulating variants,” the Health Ministry said in a press release.
Urging the public to take personal and social responsibility, the ministry said people suffering from symptoms of acute respiratory infection stay at home and avoid contact with others.
It added that those who are travelling should wear a mask at the airport, purchase travel insurance and avoid crowded areas with poor ventilation.
“We urge the public to seek medical attention in a hospital’s emergency department in the event of a serious or life-threatening emergency,” the ministry said.
“This will maintain our hospital capacity for patients who want acute hospital care and allow those with serious illnesses to get timely treatment,” the Ministry of Health said on the channel.
The Health Ministry said it was collaborating with public hospitals to plan contingency measures, adding that it would ensure it was adequately staffed and postpone elective surgeries to maximize bed capacity for urgent cases requiring intensive care.
“In addition, hospitals have reduced services, such as transitional care services and choice care models, such as Mobile Inpatient Care@Home (MIC@Home), to ensure proper placement of patients,” the Ministry of Health said.
A second COVID-19 treatment centre will open in Hall 10 of EXPO Singapore this weekend, expanding the capacity of Crawfurd Hospital’s existing facilities.
A treatment centre is already operating at Crawfurd Hospital on Adam Road. Together, the two services can accommodate more than 80 patients and the new facilities can be expanded if needed.
In addition, hospitals will take steps to meet the increased demand for beds.
“To maintain our physical care capacity, the Ministry of Health has been collaborating with public hospitals to plan for emergencies, ensuring sufficiently good staffing, and postponing non-urgent elective categories to maximize bed capacity for urgent cases requiring intensive care,” the ministry said. saying.
In the week ending Dec. 9, twenty-three COVID-19 patients were admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), up from nine last week, and the weekly number for the year. A total of 763 patients have been hospitalized because of the virus.
MOH said travellers should take precautions such as wearing a mask at the airport, buying travel insurance in case they need medical care overseas and avoiding crowded areas with poor ventilation.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Dec. 13 that the impact on health care of the latest surge in numbers was low, with fewer than 10 cases in comprehensive health care pools at any given time.
Although more than 560 Covid patients were hospitalised on December 13, it is a fraction of the 1,726 at the peak of the pandemic.
During the week of Dec. 3-9, polyclinics recorded 3,590 acute cases of respiratory tract infections per day, compared to 2,970 per day last week. The polyclinics, which treat about 20 percent of the cases of serious illnesses in number one care, serve as a benchmark for the country.
Doctors are urging others to get vaccinated against the flu and Covid-19, especially if they are medically vulnerable or older people with underlying health conditions, for whom such infections can be serious.
The flu vaccine, which protects against the major strains currently circulating here, is available to those who have joined Healthier SG, the national fitness program to promote greater fitness among Singaporeans.
The flu kills about six hundred people here a year. By comparison, Covid-19 caused 226 deaths in the first 10 months of 2023, according to a report by The Straits Times.
(This story has not been edited through Devdiscourse and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed. )