The existing wave of COVID-19 infections is driven through the XBB subvariant and is expected to peak at 15,000 cases by mid-November.
Projections on past waves of infection show that Singapore has a good enough healthcare capacity to cope with emerging coronavirus cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (October 15).
Public hospitals here have already used measures, such as postponing non-urgent admissions, to provide another two hundred beds to treat Covid-19 patients.
Over the next two weeks, public hospitals will have a total of more than 800 beds for COVID-19 patients, the ministry said. The capacity of covid-19 care services will also gradually increase to supply more than 800 beds through November.
“Most likely, this is a short, sharp wave caused by XBB, but largely contributed through reinfections,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told a news conference.
As Singapore strives never to return to the restrictions of the circuit breaker era in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, Mr. Ong suggested Singaporeans take on non-public tasks amid the new wave of infections. Measures cannot be ruled out, he added.
“If the scenario were to get worse, but in a way that doesn’t disrupt our life in general. . . Maybe we’ll put the mask back on, say indoors, or indoors and outdoors if the stage calls for it,” M said. . NGO.
“We’re largely tracking the XBB wave and the impact on the fitness formula to see if any of those measures are necessary. “
In the meantime, seniors and other immunocompromised people are urged to continue wearing masks in crowded indoor environments.
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The Ministry of Health also suggested members of the public move to hospital emergency departments in case of emergency.
To ease the burden on general medicine clinics and polyclinics here, employers are suggested to require a medical certificate from workers who have tested positive for Covid-19 or who exhibit symptoms of acute respiratory infection.
“This is to prevent patients with mild or no symptoms from unnecessarily visiting GP clinics, which would compromise the quality of care for other patients requiring medical care,” the fitness ministry said.
Those who are fine are encouraged to work from home if they can, while those with mild flu-like symptoms are also advised to teleconsult with their doctor.
The overall adult bed occupancy rate in hospitals through midweek is around 93 percent, Singapore’s director of medical services, Kenneth Mak, said at Saturday’s press conference.
To make sure there are enough beds to meet the growing demand for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 hospitalizations, public hospitals have been told to reduce elective clinical jobs in hospitalization.
It’s about giving hospitals more flexibility in their capacity, said Associate Professor Mak.
The XBB Omicron subvariant, also known as BA. 2. 10, is lately the leading cause of Covid-19 infections in Singapore. During the week of October 3-9, it accounted for 54% of Covid-19 cases.
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First detected in August, it has been discovered in more than 17 countries, Australia, Denmark, India and Japan.
Although the strain is at least as transmissible as other strains circulating lately, adding BA. 5 and BA. 2. 75, which account for 21% and 24% of local cases, respectively, the Health Ministry said there is no evidence that XBB has more serious reasons. illness.
However, there is evidence that XBB may be to blame for an accumulation of reinfections, which lately account for about 17% of the total number of new cases.
8,763 new Covid-19 infections were recorded on October 14, down from the recent peak of 11,399 cases on October 11.
The Health Ministry said the backlog of hospitalized cases remains proportional to the accumulation in the total number of local cases.
As of October 14, there were 562 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, 44 requiring supplemental oxygen and in intensive care.
That’s compared to 365, 37 and thirteen a week ago, even though the seven-day moving average of local instances nearly doubled from 4714 to 7716 during the same period.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission is required for reproduction.