New Delhi: Most of the world, certainly India, have forgotten about the coronavirus.
But it seems COVID-19 has not yet become history.
Singapore is experiencing another COVID-19 wave, with more people feared to fall sick and be hospitalised in the next few weeks, reported PTI.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung warned on Friday that daily cases have risen from around 1,000 three weeks ago to 2,000 in the past two weeks.
The Singapore government, however, will treat this as an “endemic disease”, the minister said.
Most of the recent cases are driven mainly by two variants — EG.5 and its sub-lineage HK.3, both descendants of the XBB Omicron variant.
“Together, they now account for over 75 % of our daily cases,” Ong told Channel News Asia.
The island country and city-state doesn’t have plans to impose any social restriction yet, as it had during the last wave in March and April.
In April, the COVID caseload rose to about 4,000 per day.
“We will treat this as an endemic disease, which is in line with our strategy, and we will live with it,” he said. “After all, there has been no evidence to suggest that the new variants are more likely to lead to severe illnesses compared to previous variants.
“All indications show that current vaccines continue to work well in protecting us against severe illnesses if infected by these new variants,” the minister stated.
In the same breath, he warned his fellow-citizens not to against lower their guard against COVID-19.
“In the coming weeks, we should expect more people to fall sick, and if so, hospitalisations will go up. Waiting time will go up,” the Health minister said.
Ong advised senior citizens or those who are medically vulnerable due to underlying illness to take necessary precautions, like wearing a mask in crowded areas.
“But most importantly, seniors and vulnerable individuals are recommended to keep your vaccination up to date, which means taking a shot at least once a year,” he said.
