Health Minister: Omicron Wave Has Peaked & Starting to Subside

After the recent spike in Omicron cases where it felt like everyone around you was being infected with COVID-19, it seems we might finally be stepping out of this dreadful period.

Why?

Omicron Wave Has Peaked and is Now Declining

This was announced by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday (9 March), who said the current Omicron wave in Singapore has peaked and the number of infections is now declining.

He added that he hopes healthcare workers will finally have a well-deserved and lasting respite.

On 8 March, 1,499 COVID-19 patients were in hospital, 190 of which needed oxygen, while 49 were in intensive care units (ICU) and 15 had died.

About 22,000 were infected compared to about 26,000 two weeks earlier on 22 February.

Ministry of Health Working at Maximum

Speaking in Parliament during the debate on his ministry’s budget, Mr Ong said the ministry has “been doing whatever we can” to help healthcare workers.

This included ensuring there is enough Personal Protective Equipment, giving them priority when vaccines arrived, and moving “as many patients as possible” to facilities outside of hospitals.

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Pressure From the Unvaccinated

However, GP clinics, hospitals and healthcare workers still face pressure due to the Omicron wave.

Much of this pressure comes from people who remain unvaccinated.

According to Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Health, three per cent of the adult population who were not fully vaccinated accounted for 25 per cent of ICU cases and deaths.

Furthermore, people who have received their booster shots are 33 times less likely than those who are not fully vaccinated to die from COVID-19.

Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) have been put in place to protect those who remain unvaccinated, or have not been fully vaccinated, while allowing the rest of the population to resume more social and economic activities.

This is why it is currently not appropriate to lift existing measures, Dr Janil said.

“Once the Omicron wave has subsided, we will be in a better position to ease our Safe Management Measures further,” he continued.

Healthcare Supplies

On the lack of antigen rapid test (ART) kits by local manufacturers, Dr Janil said the key considerations for approval are that they are “sufficiently sensitive in detecting COVID-19 infection, easy to use and affordable”.

Local manufacturers do not face more stringent criteria than foreign ones, he said.

Regarding preparations for ICU surges, Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Health, said there is sufficient equipment and consumables to step up ICU beds significantly.

As of January 2022, more than 800 non-ICU nurses have been trained as a reserve to augment ICU nursing manpower by up to 57 per cent.

While this capacity would have allowed hospitals to stretch ICU capacity temporarily, it was not needed. This was because patients infected with the Omicron variant who need ICU care are only a small fraction of those who had been infected by the Delta variant.

Dr Koh assured that the ministry will continue to make contingency plans, “given how unpredictable the pandemic has been”.

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Featured Image: Shutterstock / G.Tbov