Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung announced on June 28 that a new wave of Covid-19 infections has arrived in Singapore earlier than predicted.
Ong stated that the rise in international travel, including to Europe, during the June school break and the current spike in Covid-19 cases in this country may be related.
Previously, in June 2022, he predicted that Singapore will likely see a Covid-19 wave in July or August 2022.
Ong's most recent statements were given to the Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao during the Chinese Development Assistance Council's 30th annual general meeting.
He stated in Mandarin, "I had previously predicted that the next wave would occur in July or August, but it has arrived a bit early than expected around the end of June, maybe owing to the June holidays."
This may also explain the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Singapore, where the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 11,504 new Covid-19 cases on June 28 — the largest number in three months.
MOH will watch situation
However, Ong stated that he does not believe the present wave would be worse than the BA.2 Omicron subvariant wave in February 2022.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) would continue to watch the situation, he continued, adding hospitals in Singapore must be well prepared for an influx of Covid-19 patients.
In addition, he recommended seniors to have their booster doses as soon as possible to protect themselves against the new Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subtypes.
The new Omicron subvariants account for around 45 percent of Covid-19 cases in Singapore last week, with BA.5 estimated to be responsible for 40 percent of all Covid-19 cases.
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