Singapore reported its highest number of daily Covid-19 infections in more than 3 months on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health’s website.
The city-state posted 11,504 new Covid-19 cases, of which 10,732 are local infections and 772 imported. That’s more than double the 5,309 cases on Monday and is the highest number of infections since March 22, when 13,166 Covid-19 cases were reported.
There were 437 patients hospitalised, with nine in intensive care and 36 requiring oxygen support as of noon Tuesday, according to data from the Health Ministry. Daily infection case numbers tend to be higher on Tuesdays than for other days as more people are out in social gatherings over the weekend.
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Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a speech at the Global Health Security Conference Wednesday that while Singapore is in a “relative stable position” for Covid-19, people should not let their guard down as the pandemic is not over. The local surge is being driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron sub-variants, said Ong, who expects more virus waves, driven by new variants, in the future.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the government cannot rule out tightening Covid-19 restrictions again as it faces a resurgence in cases, though authorities expect to “ride through this wave” without having to do so, the Straits Times reported on Monday.
About 92% of Singapore’s population is double-vaccinated, while more than three in four have also had a Covid booster. Hospitalisations have remained largely stable, though the number of virus-infected patients has risen above 300 in the past week, according to health ministry data. A one-and-a-half year-old toddler who was infected with Covid-19 died on Monday, marking Singapore’s first death caused by the virus in a patient under 12 years old.