SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Health said on Saturday (October 15) that the Omicron VBB sub-variant leading to increased cases of COVID-19 is expected to peak in mid-November.
The strain – which was first detected in India in August – is now the dominant sub-variant spreading in the community, accounting for 54 per cent of local cases during the week of October 3-9, up from 22 per cent in the previous week.
The previously dominant sub-variant, BA.5, is now estimated to account for 21 percent of local cases, while the other sub-variant, BA.2.75, is estimated to account for 24 percent of cases.
Observations from countries with the XBB subvariable suggested that it is at least as transmissible as the current variants, but does not cause more serious disease.
However, the Ministry of Health said there was evidence that XBB could lead to an increase in cases again, as about 17 percent of all new cases were re-infected last month.
In its media statement, the Ministry of Health said: “Since a population’s immunity to natural infection is likely to diminish over time, this underlines the importance of ensuring minimal vaccination protection and keeping our vaccinations up-to-date to protect us from severe infection.”
However, should the situation worsen, Health Minister Aung Yi Kung said Singapore could not rule out having to reinstate safe management measures, such as putting on face masks indoors or outdoors.
“The epidemic means that we accept the existence of (Covid-19) and take the necessary steps to live with it. Therefore, we must accept that some parts of our lives must change in order to live with this virus,” he said.
“As much as possible, we don’t want this to disrupt our normal life and therefore we are doing our best to never go back to a circuit breaker or a loud alarm, or anything that severely disrupts our normal life. We will take the necessary precautions in order to manage the situation.”
Hospital admissions are proportional to the number of cases
The seven-day moving average of local COVID-19 cases increased from 4,714 to 7,716 over the past week.
However, the increase in hospitalization cases is still proportional to the rise in total local cases. Most importantly, the number of severe cases has remained low.
As of Friday, the number of cases hospitalized requiring oxygen supplementation and in the intensive care unit were 562, 44 and 9, respectively, compared to 365, 37 and 13 a week earlier.
“Using the BA.5 wave as an indicator, cases in hospitals peaked at 800 in July, and our hospitals, as they expanded, were able to handle the numbers,” the ministry said.
“As we are able to quickly reach the same capacity and beyond, our forecasts for healthcare use show that we have enough ICU beds, hospital and COVID-19 treatment facilities (CTF) to handle the next wave.”
Hospitals to activate more beds
Public hospitals have activated an additional 200 beds to care for COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the past two weeks. These beds are activated by deferring non-urgent admission, discharging stable patients from home or nursing homes, and transferring recovered patients to transitional care facilities and community hospitals.
In the next two weeks, public hospitals will operate a total of more than 800 beds for COVID-19 patients. The capacity of the Project Finance Fund will also be increased in phases, to be able to provide 800 individual beds by early November.
The public is advised to go to the emergency department (ED) only for emergencies as hospitals continue to see a large number of patients daily, most of them for non-COVID cases.
To ease the burden on GP clinics and polyclinics, the Ministry of Health is urging employers not to request medical certificates from employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms of acute respiratory infection.
The ministry also encourages people with mild flu-like symptoms to consider remote consultation with their doctor.
Taking Moderna / Spikevax Bivalent Vaccine
With the Moderna/Spikevax bivalent vaccine – available in Singapore since Friday – able to target the original COVID-19 strain as well as the Omicron variant, the Department of Health is encouraging those who qualify for the next vaccine dose to take the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine at any of the testing centers A common vaccination.
Meanwhile, the ministry has also updated healthcare protocols for infants and pregnant women. Currently, they are being placed under the Protocol 1 Home Recovery Program, where the Ministry of Health will verify their recovery.
From October 25, these two groups will be administered as protocol 2 – self-recover at home or under the care of their primary physicians – given the low risk of severe COVID-19 illness among them.
These patients should continue to monitor themselves closely for worrisome signs and symptoms — such as shortness of breath, chest pain or persistent fever — while recovering at home. If signs and symptoms worsen, they should seek medical attention.
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Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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