More Covid-19 patients can isolate at home or be managed by GPs

More people infected with Covid-19 can simply self-isolate at home or be managed by primary care doctors, instead of heading to the hospital, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.

These are those who are aged three to 69 years, regardless of their vaccination status, and fully vaccinated patients aged 70 to 79 years old.

MOH said this is an expansion of the previous qualifying age band for treatment from primary care doctors: Fully vaccinated patients aged five to 69 years, and non-fully vaccinated patients aged five to 49 years.

Primary care doctors are the general practitioners (GPs) at private clinics or the polyclinics.

Patients falling outside of revised age brackets will continue to be managed by MOH, either through the home recovery programme or at a care facility such as a Covid-19 treatment facility or a hospital. For instance, all fully vaccinated seniors aged 80 and above as well as non-fully vaccinated individuals aged between 70 and 79 years will be managed under the home recovery programme, where telemedicine providers will monitor and provide treatment as needed.

Those aged 80 and above who are not fully vaccinated will be managed in a care facility.

Also, infected infants below the age of three months will be managed in a care facility, while infected children aged from three months to below three will be put on the home recovery programme.

"We reviewed the outcomes of our patients infected with Omicron. The majority had mild symptoms (or) are asymptomatic, and they are able to safely re-cover on their own," Singapore's director of medical services Kenneth Mak said at a Covid-19 multi-ministry task force media conference yesterday.

For example, less than 3 per cent of fully vaccinated patients below the age of 80 and non-fully vaccinated patients below the age of 70 needed oxygen supplementation or intensive care unit (ICU) care in the hospitals. This is in contrast to those who are not fully vaccinated and above the age of 80, with more than 20 per cent needing oxygen supplementation or ICU care.

"This data... allows us now to simplify our health protocols and reduce the need for admission into the hospital or the community treatment facilities for treatment and care," said Prof Mak.

"This means more age groups of patients may now be managed by primary care physicians... if they exhibit mild symptoms."

The latest move will ensure that Singapore's healthcare capacity is reserved for those who require acute care, MOH said in a statement yesterday.

As Omicron cases surge, GP clinics and polyclinics have been seeing a flood of Covid-19 patients. More people have also been rushing to the hospitals' emergency departments, even though they have mild symptoms.

"If you are well and suspect you have Covid-19, please self-isolate at home," advised Prof Mak.

Test yourself with an ART kit, and continue to self-isolate if you test positive, he said.

He said there is no need to see a GP, visit a polyclinic or rush to the emergency department to get a test. If needed, a supervised test can be obtained at various test centres around Singapore. MOH has made these free from today until March 15.

"Individuals with non-emergency conditions turning up at EDs (emergency departments) may be diverted to other urgent care clinics for further assessment, so as to prioritise ED resources for patients requiring acute care," MOH said in its statement yesterday.

"Individuals may also be diverted for admission to Covid-19 treatment facilities for further monitoring of their medical condition, as long as they do not require hospitalisation."