Singapore sees jump in COVID-19 infections with recent doubling of cases

SINGAPORE: There has been a significant rise in COVID-19 infections in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Dec 2), urging people to keep up to date with their vaccinations. 

The number of estimated COVID-19 infections doubled to 22,094 in the week of Nov 19 to 25, compared with 10,726 in the previous week.

“The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations and ICU cases have remained stable,” the ministry added.

MOH said the rise in infections could be due to factors such as the year-end travelling season and waning population immunity. 

EG.5 and its sub-lineage HK.3 remain the predominant subvariants in Singapore, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the cases sequenced.

“Currently, there is no indication that the predominant subvariants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to other circulating variants,” MOH said. 

GLOBAL RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES

Noting the rise in respiratory illnesses in northern-hemisphere countries in the winter months, the ministry said the overall incidence of respiratory illnesses in Singapore has remained stable over the past month.

“There is no indication of increases in severe respiratory illness, including in children,” it added.

China, which has seen a surge in "influenza-like illness" since mid-October, said the spike was due to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens, namely influenza and common bacterial infections that affect children, including mycoplasma pneumonia.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese authorities said they have not detected any “unusual or novel pathogens” in the north of the country.

Singapore’s Health Ministry noted that to date, the WHO has stated that the increasing trend of respiratory illnesses is not unexpected due to the onset of the winter season. 

COVID-19 infections contribute towards the overall number of respiratory illness cases in Singapore.

MOH advised people to keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination, recommending an additional dose at around one year after their last vaccine dose for those aged 60 and above, medically vulnerable people as well as residents of aged care facilities. 

“Beyond this group, all individuals aged six months and above are also encouraged to receive the additional dose, particularly for healthcare workers and household members/caregivers of medically vulnerable individuals,” the ministry added. 

“MOH continues to monitor the global and local situations closely. With the start of the peak season for travelling overseas, MOH would like to remind all travellers to be vigilant and to adopt relevant travel precautions.”

People can get vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres. They may also receive their jabs at these clinics.