No visitors at hospital wards for a month starting tomorrow

From tomorrow, no visitors will be allowed at all hospital wards in Singapore for four weeks until Oct 23 amid a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the community.

There have also been more cases detected among hospital staff, patients and visitors, leading to ward closures and staff quarantine.

This has put a strain on hospital bed capacity and staffing at a time when bed numbers are being ramped up to care for hospitalised Covid-19 patients, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement yesterday.

Those visiting selected groups of patients may be allowed to enter hospital wards but the final decision will be made by the hospital after assessing each case, MOH said.

Patients who are in critical condition, paediatric patients, those giving birth or post-partum mothers, and patients requiring additional care support from caregivers are among those who may be allowed to have visitors, it added.

Also starting tomorrow, some groups of higher-risk patients will be required to undergo mandatory antigen rapid tests (ARTs) in the emergency departments or 24-hour emergency clinics, regardless of their vaccination status.

The total number of new cases yesterday was 1,457. The number of Covid-19 infections here has doubled twice since Aug 23 and could double three more times before falling and stabilising.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Tuesday that the Government is closely monitoring hospital capacity but it may have to impose more restrictions if the Covid-19 situation worsens.

In an interview with Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, he said Singapore already has in place a suite of measures and to go further would be a "last resort".

He said the Government monitors two factors daily - if beds in intensive care units (ICUs) are adequate to handle the number of serious cases, and if there are enough hospital beds for anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 and needs to be admitted to hospital and community care facilities.

Mr Ong said: "If this does not work, then we will have to explain to people frankly about the need for tighter restrictions."

He added that Singapore needs to learn to coexist with the virus and to achieve this, it is inevitable that the country will have to go through a big wave of infections.

He said: "Coexistence with the virus does not mean that we have to fear it and lock down. This isn't coexistence, it is defeat.

"Coexistence also does not mean we keep loosening restrictions and completely open up as if the virus does not exist. This is also wrong."

Instead, Singapore needs to take the middle road, where everyone adjusts to coexist with the virus and finds a new balance, he said.

The NTUC Health Nursing Home in Tampines will open today - the first in a new category of stepped-up community care facilities for Covid-19 patients who are mostly well, but have underlying health conditions that require close monitoring. It is part of efforts to ease the load on hospital beds.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post yesterday that Singapore is doing its best to scale up Covid-19 operations to ensure all patients are well cared for amid growing case numbers.

He said: "I know this is a stressful time for those with family members who have Covid-19."

He added that some people had written to him to express their frustrations and ask why MOH had taken a long time to get in touch with them.

PM Lee said: "If we all work together, get vaccinated, and wear our masks properly, we can slow down the current wave and get through safely without overwhelming our hospitals or suffering unnecessary casualties."

As the number of Covid-19 infections rises, there have been signs of growing anxieties in the community, including over lag times between testing positive and getting moved to a hospital or community care facility.

Some people have also complained about being unable to contact MOH to ask what they should do after testing positive.