The Singapore Ministry of Health has reported a significant rise in COVID-19 cases, with the estimated weekly count almost doubling from 13,700 to 25,900 in the week ending May 11. This sharp increase has prompted health authorities to closely monitor the situation, though no new social restrictions are planned at this stage.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, in a statement on Saturday, acknowledged the surge and recommended the public to consider wearing masks again. Despite the rise in cases, Minister Ong emphasized that Covid-19 is being treated as an endemic disease in Singapore, and therefore, there are no immediate plans for reintroducing social restrictions.
“We are at the beginning part of the wave where it is steadily rising,” Ong remarked, according to a Straits Times report. He highlighted that the government is tracking the trajectory of the new wave closely.
The ministry also noted an increase in average daily Covid-19 hospitalisations, which rose from 181 to approximately 250 during the same period. In response, public hospitals have been instructed to reduce non-urgent elective surgeries and transfer suitable patients to care facilities to preserve hospital bed capacity.
Ong urged those at the highest risk, including individuals aged 60 and above, medically vulnerable individuals, and residents of aged care facilities, to receive an additional dose of the Covid-19 vaccine if they have not been vaccinated in the past 12 months.
Ong reiterated that while the situation is being monitored, additional measures would only be imposed as a last resort. “So Covid-19 is just something that we have to live with. Every year, we should expect one or two waves,” he said, acknowledging Singapore’s position as a transport and communications hub, which makes it more susceptible to early waves of infections.
The Health Minister’s comments reflect Singapore’s ongoing strategy to manage Covid-19 as an endemic disease, focusing on vaccination and hospital capacity management rather than stringent social restrictions.