The Singapore government is closely monitoring a new surge in Covid-19 infections, as the estimated weekly case count nearly doubled in the week ending May 11. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung advised the public to consider wearing masks again.
According to the Ministry of Health, the estimated number of Covid-19 cases rose significantly from 13,700 in the previous week to 25,900 between May 5 and 11. Additionally, the average daily Covid-19 hospitalizations increased from 181 to approximately 250 during the same period. To preserve hospital bed capacity, public hospitals have been instructed to reduce non-urgent elective surgeries and transfer suitable patients to care facilities.
“We are at the beginning part of the wave where it is steadily rising,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said, according to a Straits Times report. He projected that the wave would peak within the next two to four weeks, between mid- and end-June.
Ong also urged those at highest risk—including individuals aged 60 and above, medically vulnerable individuals, and residents of aged care facilities—to get an additional dose of the Covid-19 vaccine if they have not been vaccinated in the past 12 months.
Regarding social restrictions, Ong mentioned that there were no current plans to impose any, as Covid-19 is being treated as an endemic disease in Singapore. He emphasized that additional measures would be considered only as a last resort.
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Ong acknowledged that Singapore, being a major transport and communications hub, might experience waves of Covid-19 earlier than other cities. “Covid-19 is just something that we have to live with. Every year, we should expect one or two waves,” he said.
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