S'pore sees 23% jump in Covid-19 local cases due to Omicron subvariants, surge likely to continue

[SBFNews]

S'pore sees 23% jump in Covid-19 local cases due to Omicron subvariants, surge likely to continue​

About 30 per cent of the Covid-19 cases in the community in the past week were cases with BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

SINGAPORE - Singapore has witnessed a 23 per cent week-on-week increase in Covid-19 community infections, with the rise largely driven by an increased spread of the newer Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Although the BA.2 subvariant still accounts for the bulk of Singapore’s Covid-19 infections, the proportion of BA.4 and BA.5 infections is rising, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in an update on Tuesday (June 21).

About 30 per cent of the Covid-19 cases in the community in the past week were cases with BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, as compared to 17 per cent, 8 per cent and 3 per cent for the previous three weeks respectively.

The BA.5 subvariant alone is estimated to contribute to 25 per cent of all cases so far this week, MOH said. The surge in BA.4 and BA.5 cases is likely to continue, driven by their higher transmissibility compared to BA.2.

There were 7,109 new Covid-19 cases recorded here on Tuesday, more than double the 3,220 cases on Monday.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung cited the situation in South Africa, which was riding its fifth infection outbreak driven by the two Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, and said that the next Covid-19 infection wave could arrive in Singapore in a “matter of months, maybe July, maybe August”.

Currently, international and local evidence show that the severity of BA.4 and BA.5 infections is similar to that of earlier Omicron strains.

The current safe management measures, including the requirement to wear masks while indoors and vaccination-differentiated measures for some higher-risk activities, will remain, MOH added.

“MOH will continue genomic surveillance for circulating subvariants in Singapore, including requiring some infected individuals to take an additional government-funded polymerase chain reaction swab for genomic sequencing,” the ministry said.

While there has not been a significant increase of severe Covid-19 cases in the hospitals, and the number of cases in intensive care units (ICUs) remain low, Singapore’s public hospitals continue to be busy caring for non-Covid-19 patients, and many hospitals are experiencing high bed occupancies, MOH said.

“To ensure that precious emergency department (ED) resources are available to patients who need urgent emergency care, we strongly advise the public to only seek medical treatment at a hospital’s ED for serious or life-threatening emergencies.

"Patients with minor ailments are strongly urged to seek medical attention at general practitioner clinics,” MOH said.

Given the current Covid-19 situation, MOH strongly recommends seniors aged 70 years and above (and especially those aged 80 years and above) to take their second booster shot.

All other eligible persons should complete their primary vaccination series and get at least their first booster as soon as possible, MOH added.

S'pore's new Covid-19 cases jump to 7,109, weekly infection rate up slightly
'Don't delay any more': 80,000 seniors urged to take boosters with possible new Covid-19 wave

MOH will soon be deploying mobile vaccination teams to help seniors get boosted.

From Thursday (June 23), five new Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs) will begin vaccination and Covid-19 testing operations.

Located in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Sengkang, Woodlands and Yishun, the five new facilities will bring the total to 10 JTVCs across the island.

These centres will offer the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna/Spikevax vaccines. JTVC Bishan will offer the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccines.

Those aged 12 years and above can walk in to any of the JTVCs to receive their vaccination and booster, MOH added.

The full list of JTVCs can be found at this website.

With more JTVCs being set up, MOH will consolidate its resources and free up space for other uses. It will close the Vaccination Centre (VC) at Raffles City Convention Centre on July 18. The VC will accept appointments made via the National Appointment System and walk-ins for vaccination until July 18.

 

[red amoeba]

Just go fucking lockdown. We will be swamped again by cases. Other countries will ban us from travelling there. Good times will be back.

 

[zhihau]

Altogether now!!! TIO AH!!!

 

[saynotomsm]

"MOH will soon be deploying mobile vaccination teams to help seniors get boosted.

It's all about vaccination.

Getting 3 to 4 shots within a year and still contract covid. Still not awake yet?

 

[Sideswipe]

covid vaccines and boosters are not the endgame.

 

[Leongsam]

Influenza has been a far bigger problem than Covid in NZ.

stuff.co.nz

Flu puts 'extreme pressure' on hospitals, one has 'all-time high' patient numbers​

Hannah Martin and Cecile Meier

5-6 minutes

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STUFF
Dr Gary Jackson, Dr Christine McIntosh and Dr Anthony Jordan discuss Covid-19, flu and RSV with health reporter Hannah Martin.
An Auckland hospital has seen a fourfold increase in patients with influenza compared to pre-Covid years, while Christchurch Hospital has been caring for an “all-time high” number of patients as winter illnesses bite.
The rates of hospitalisations due to serious acute respiratory infections in the past four weeks have been the highest it has been all year – reaching a peak of 23.5 hospitalisations per 100,000 people in the week ending June 12.
Dr Vanessa Thornton, Middlemore Hospital’s clinical director of hospital services, said the south Auckland hospital was experiencing “extreme pressure”.

Sungmi Kim/Stuff
One in five New Zealanders have been vaccinated against flu so far this winter. (File photo)
It was seeing a fourfold increase of influenza patients compared to 2017, 2018 and 2019.
READ MORE:
* Hospitals under pressure but health system 'coping', Health Minister Andrew Little says
* Free south Auckland GP visits to take pressure off overloaded Middlemore ED
* 'Bribery works, doesn't it?' - Hotel stay offered to raise DHB vax rates
* Colds, flu will be tougher to fight this year

In a bid to alleviate pressure on the emergency department, visits to many GPs in Counties Manukau were free over the weekend and many pharmacies were providing free pain relief for children without a prescription. That led to a drop in ED visits of nearly 100 people compared to the previous weekend.
Stuff
Hospitalisations due to severe acute respiratory infections in the past four weeks have been the highest it has been all year, ESR surveillance data shows. (File photo)
Further down country, on Monday, Canterbury DHB’s general medical team was caring for 206 people, which it “believes is [an] all-time high”, chief executive Peter Bramley said.
Emergency department staff were seeing more than 300 patients daily – which was higher than a typical winter pre-pandemic – and Christchurch Hospital was operating at 99% occupancy on Tuesday.
Last weekend, nearly four in every 10 patients were unwell enough to be admitted. Admissions dropped to about 30% on Monday and Tuesday, Canterbury DHB Māori and Pacific health executive director Hector Matthews said.
About 200 hospital staff were off sick daily – more than the numbers seen in a pre-2020 winter. As a result, non-urgent surgeries were delayed, he said.
GP practices and pharmacies were also feeling the stretch. Matthews knew of one GP practice that had to close on Monday afternoon because too many staff members were sick.
Eunika Sopotnicka
Hospitals across Aotearoa are seeing heavy demand on emergency departments as rates of winter illness surge. (File photo)
“Winter has only started, so we have a long way to go. We will cope because we always cope, but people are working really hard.”
Influenza outbreaks were also being detected in some aged residential care facilities and early childhood education centres, surveillance reporting by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) showed.
Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast DHB chief medical officer John Tait said Wellington and Hutt EDs were also experiencing higher patient numbers, with 175 and 138 patients on average per day, respectively.
“Unprecedented” levels of staff absence due to illness, the long tail of Covid-19 and heavy winter and influenza demand, prompted the decision to “significantly reduce” planned care over the coming four weeks.
The vast majority of planned care was being deferred across the region where it was clinically safe to do so, he said.
Meanwhile, schools in Taranaki were reporting almost a third of staff and students off with either flu or gastro-like symptoms.
New Plymouth Principals Association Brigitte Luke said schools were seeing 20-30% of their rolls on sick leave – putting “immense pressure” on some schools, which were having to juggle staff sickness and a lack of available relief teachers.
In the week ending June 10, rates of calls to Healthline relating to influenza-like illness exceeded historical rates for nearly all DHBs with available data.
Healthline rates were “particularly high” relative to this week in previous years for Auckland, Canterbury, West Coast and Southern DHBs.
This winter, 20% of Kiwis have received a flu vaccine – 64% of those aged over 65 and over have had theirs.
This year, funded flu vaccines were extended to Māori and Pacific peoples aged 55-64 in a bid to further protect those most at risk. So far, 28% of Māori aged 55-64 and 30% of Pacific peoples in this age group have been vaccinated.

 

[tobelightlight]

Vaccine not working at all. And still getting people to vaxx. They want to kill more people.

 

[laksaboy]

Vaccine not working at all. And still getting people to vaxx. They want to kill more people.

On the contrary, the 'vaccines' are working as intended.

If you look around the world, the problematic countries are those with a super high vaccination rate.

 

[glockman]

Just go fucking lockdown. We will be swamped again by cases. Other countries will ban us from travelling there. Good times will be back.

I am praying and hoping for a lockdown. I miss the good old days when streets, parks and eateries were empty. When the air was fresher and the grass grew long.

 

[bushtucker]

Boost for what? So many people are outdoors everyday and this creates a herd immunity that is better than any vaccine.

 

[laksaboy]

Don't fall for the Covid scam.

 

[mojito]

Because your minister lifted covid measures. No testing. Clap for hell care worker again?

 

[mahjongking]

i am waiting for variant that makes my flaccid cock become a steel rod.......