Singapore facing another Covid wave, daily case count jumps to 2,000

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peak of the pandemic, Singapore recorded up to 4,000 daily cases. The government had then imposed strict curbs, that mandated the wearing of masks and restricted public movement. However, no such restrictions are being planned to address the current surge in infections, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said, while speaking to the local media.

The government will treat this as an “endemic disease", Kung added. Even as the minister indicated that there is no major health risk posed by the virus, he noted that hospitalisations may increase in the coming weeks as more people may fall sick. Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here! “…there has been no evidence to suggest that the new variants are more likely to lead to severe illnesses compared to previous variants," Kung told Channel News Asia.

“All indications show that current vaccines continue to work well in protecting us against severe illnesses if infected by these new variants," he added. The spate of these recent cases is driven by mostly two variants - the EG.5 and its sub-lineage HK.3 - both of which are descendants of the XBB Omicron variant. “Together, they now account for over 75 per cent of our daily cases," the minister said, while speaking to the news channel.

He shared findings from a Ministry of Health (MOH) study, which showed the incidence rate of severe illness recorded during the peak of Singapore’s last infection wave in April. Among those who are “best protected" - those who have a minimum of three mRNA shots and a natural infection within the last 12 months - the severe illness incidence rate is about 10 per 100,000 people. For the “least