SINGAPORE – Covid-19 cases have been on the rise over the past month in Singapore mainly due to the Omicron XBB subvariant with the XBB infection wave expected to peak around mid-November.
The republic’s Health Ministry (MoH) said it has been closely tracking the trajectory of this wave, and has taken steps to ensure that Singapore’s healthcare capacity remains protected.
“In Singapore, XBB is now the predominant subvariant circulating in the community accounting for 54% of local cases during the week of October 3 to 9, from 22% the previous week,” it said in a statement here, today.
The ministry said the previously dominant subvariant BA.5, is now estimated to account for 21% of local cases, while the subvariant BA.2.75 is estimated to account for 24% of cases.
MoH noted that there is evidence that XBB may be driving an increase in reinfections.
“The proportion of reinfections among total Covid-19 cases in Singapore has been increasing over the past month, with reinfections currently making up about 17% of total new cases,” it said.
Given that immunity from natural infection in the population is likely waning over time, “this underscores the importance of ensuring minimum protection from vaccination and keeping our vaccinations up to date to protect us against severe infections”, it added.
MoH said the increase in hospitalised cases in the republic also remains proportionate to the rise in overall local cases.
“More importantly, the number of severe cases has remained low,” it said.
As of October 14, 2022, MoH said the number of cases hospitalised, requiring oxygen supplementation and in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at 562, 44 and nine respectively, compared to 365, 37 and 13 a week ago.
“This is despite the 7-day Moving Average of Local Cases rising to 7,716 cases from 4,714 over the same period,” it said.
Based on current information, MoH expects that “the XBB infection wave will peak by around mid-November 2022”.
“Using the BA.5 wave as an indication, hospitalised cases then peaked at 800 in July 2022, and our hospitals, while stretched, were able to cope with the numbers,” said the ministry.
MoH said that the Omicron XBB subvariant was first detected in August 2022 in India, and has since been detected in more than 17 countries, including Australia, Bangladesh, Denmark, India, Japan and the United States.
“While observations from countries where XBB has been reported suggest that it is at least as transmissible as currently circulating variants, there is no evidence that XBB causes more severe illness,” it said. – Bernama, October 15, 2022
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