MOH Says Rate of Increase in COVID-19 Infections Has Slowed Down

By
Shawn Ambrose
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With over 3,000 new cases reported daily for the last four days, it’s hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

But, believe it or not, we have a little piece of good news.

And no, it’s nothing to do with our Vaccinated Travel Lane with South Korea. 

MOH Says Rate of Increase in COVID-19 Infections Has Slowed Down

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the rate of increase in COVID-19 cases has slowed down.

In an update yesterday (8 Oct), MOH sad that the time taken for COVID-19 cases to double was six to eight days three weeks ago.

Now, it takes around 10 to 12 days.

Yesterday, 3,590 new COVID-19 infections were reported, our highest daily case count since the coronavirus emerged. 12 days ago, on 27 Sep, 1,647 new cases were detected. 

The rate of increase has certainly slowed down, but large numbers are still pouring into healthcare facilities.

Number of COVID-19 Cases Seeking Medical Attention Increased Eightfold

The percentage of cases that suffer severe disease is low – 1.3% of patients require oxygen supplementation and 0.1% require intensive care unit (ICU) care – but this is still a significant number of people.

At the moment, COVID-19 patients take up around 20% of hospital beds in acute and community public hospitals.

Over the past three months, the number of COVID-19 cases seeking medical attention after testing positive has shot up by eight times. In the end, many of them were admitted for precautionary observation.

As of yesterday, occupancy of critically-ill COVID-19 cases in the ICU was 23.5%. Two-thirds of patients who require ICU care are seniors above the age of 60.

What’s more, the occupancy for isolation beds has risen from 62% in July 2021 to 85% this month.

Hospital Reducing Non-Urgent & Non-Life-Threatening Care

To deal with the influx of cases, hospitals have reduced their non-urgent and non-life-threatening care by about 20%.

Over the last three months, the number of beds designated for COVID-19 patients has increased from 900 to 2,500.

170 of these are ICU beds, with another 100 on standby if needed.

The authorities have also opened five community treatment facilities which house a total of 1,200 beds.

2,500 more beds are expected to be added by the end of the month to these facilities.

Shoud You Go to the Hospital if You Test Positive for COVID-19?

If you take a COVID-19 antigen rapid test and it comes back positive, you might feel inclined to visit a hospital.

But if you’re asymptomatic, there’s really no need for this. Instead, you could self-isolate for 72 hours after your positive test result.

And if you have mild symptoms, you can visit your GP or family doctor.

As the health ministry said, this will allow cases with more severe illnesses to be attended to quickly at healthcare facilities.

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Featured Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]