SINGAPORE: The latest wave of COVID-19 cases in Singapore has possibly peaked, and there is no need for additional measures, like a mask mandate, to be implemented, said Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung on Friday (Dec 22).
However, having about 600-700 hospital beds taken up by COVID-19 patients is quite a strain on the system, Mr Ong noted at the soft opening of the Woodlands Health Campus.
“We are a 10,000 bed-strong system. To take up 600 or 700 beds, it’s six, seven per cent, which is not small. It’s a significant workload on our healthcare workers and our system.”
“Nevertheless, I think our assessment remains … that we can withstand this without additional SMMs (safe management measures),” said Mr Ong.
Mr Ong added that estimated infection numbers have come down over the past few days.
“The indications are that we have plateaued,” he said.
The Health Minister also acknowledged that the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays will bring chances for the virus to spread.
“We might have a slight surge, but I think more or less, we are seeing the peak of this wave.”
Mr Ong encouraged Singaporeans to exercise personal responsibility by wearing a mask when sick and staying at home and continuing to be up to date with vaccinations.
The number of new COVID-19 hospitalisations in Singapore jumped to 965 in the past week, up from 763 the previous week, with those admitted to intensive care units (ICU) going up from 23 to 32 in the same period.
These were the highest numbers of new weekly hospitalisation and ICU admission for COVID-19 patients in 2023.