I refer to the report, "11,504 new Covid-19 cases in S'pore, more than double the infections a day ago" (June 29).

I am a palliative nurse in a government hospital and I also volunteer with the elderly.

The BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants are highly infectious, and a new wave has arrived.

The number of new Covid-19 cases is climbing every day, and the tally hit 11,504 on Tuesday. At the present transmission rate of 1.62, it would be around 18,640 new cases by next week.

We must keep an eye on the number of Covid-19 cases that need to be hospitalised. The healthcare system must not be overwhelmed.

Recently, I caught Covid-19 too. I was lucky to be fully vaccinated and boosted, so I had only mild symptoms.

Vaccination and boosters are our first line of defence against severe illness or death from Covid-19.

The elderly, especially those with underlying illnesses, must get the booster shots so that if they do get infected, they will likely suffer mild symptoms and need not be hospitalised or require oxygen support.

To reduce the spread of the virus to the elderly, those who test positive for the virus must be socially responsible and self-isolate.

Those who have symptoms but test negative should still self-isolate and continue to test themselves for three days to be sure they do not have the virus.

As the Chinese proverb goes: "A family with an old person has a living treasure of gold."

We must protect the elderly, who are most vulnerable during this Covid-19 pandemic.

There are many falsehoods online by anti-vaxxers about the elderly suffering from vaccine injury and urging them not to get the booster shots.

This spread of misinformation makes it difficult for people to make informed decisions.

We must fight this wave of misinformation.

Emily Yap Yong An