Singapore is experiencing a new wave of COVID-19, with authorities recording over 25,900 cases from May 5 to 11, up from 13,700 cases the previous week, per India Today.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has advised the public to start wearing masks again, as the wave is expected to peak between mid- and end of June.
“We are at the beginning part of the wave, where it is steadily rising,” said Ong. “So, I would say the wave should peak in the next two to four weeks, which means between mid- and end of June,” The Straits Times newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that average daily hospitalisations rose to 250 from 181, while ICU cases remained low, increasing slightly from two to three.
To manage hospital bed capacity, public hospitals have been instructed to reduce non-urgent elective surgeries and move suitable patients to transitional care facilities or the Mobile Inpatient Care@Home programme.
Minister Ong urged those at highest risk, such as individuals aged 60 and above, medically vulnerable individuals, and residents of aged care facilities, to get an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose if they haven’t received one in the past 12 months.
He cautioned that a significant rise in cases could strain the healthcare system, with the potential of reaching a critical burden if cases double twice, resulting in 1,000 hospitalised patients.
Currently, there are no plans for mandatory social restrictions, as COVID-19 is treated as an endemic disease in Singapore.
Additional measures would be considered a last resort. Ong noted that, as a transport and communications hub, Singapore might experience COVID-19 waves earlier than other cities, and the public should expect one or two waves annually.
“So, COVID-19 is just something that we have to live with. Every year, we should expect one or two waves,” he said.
Globally, the predominant COVID-19 variants are JN.1 and its sub-lineages, KP.1 and KP.2, with the latter accounting for over two-thirds of cases in Singapore.
The World Health Organisation has classified KP.2 as a variant under monitoring, with no evidence that these variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other variants.
The MOH emphasised the importance of staying updated with vaccinations to protect against current and emerging virus strains.
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