Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook update that the Covid-19 situation in Singapore has been stable so far, but the increasing number of Omicron cases means that a wave of Omicron infections is imminent and that we need to be prepared for it.
He added that the death counts are thankfully low, and that there are around 20 cases in the ICU.
He reminded Singaporeans to continue to do their part and exercise civil responsibility and hopes that 2022 will be a better year than 2021.
Here is his statement in full:
“Today is the first workday of 2022. Thought I will do an update on where we are on the pandemic.
Our COVID-19 situation continues to be stable so far. The number of active local cases over the past week is now 1,200, compared to a peak of over 26,000.
ICU cases are at around 20 cases, compared to a peak of about 170 cases, and now also the lowest in the last quarter.
Deaths are thankfully low.
All these signal that the recent COVID-19 wave due to the Delta variant has subsided, at least for now.
But Omicron cases have started to creep up, making up around 17% of local cases currently. This means an Omicron wave is imminent, and we need to be prepared for it.
Vaccination and boosters remain the key response. Our vaccination exercise has maintained its momentum. 87% of our total population has completed their full regimen, and 88% has received at least one dose. We also ended 2021 with 41% of our population boosted, out of about 70% that is or will be eligible.
Over the past week, more than 20,000 children aged 9 to 11 years have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. This is equivalent to about half a cohort. Many more are scheduled in the coming few weeks.
This month, we also expect new supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine. This will see us through our booster and vaccination exercise strongly.
We will keep making progress, everyone needs to continue to do our part and exercise civic responsibility, and 2022 will be a better year than the last.”
Image source: Ong Ye Kung Facebook