SINGAPORE - Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Wednesday (Feb 16) rated his recent brush with Covid-19 as a "five out of 10", compared with other flu attacks he has had in the past two to three decades.

Speaking at the National Museum of Singapore after he visited an exhibition on World War II, Dr Ng, who tested positive on an antigen rapid test on Feb 4, said his worst symptoms were a really bad sore throat, and a high fever on the second and third day after his positive test.

"By Day 6 or 7 I was bouncing back and had gone on back to my exercise regime," he said, adding that his run timings now are similar to those before he tested positive about two weeks ago.

Asked if he had advice for those who have recently been infected - 19,420 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Tuesday - Dr Ng quipped: "Listen to what your mother and what your wife says. Whatever tonics they want to give you, just accept it willingly and hope it works."

Lozenges and soups help, he added.

Dr Ng said he felt vaccinations and booster jabs have made a life-threatening illness a manageable, or even mild one.

"If I had gotten the original wild type two years ago, or even Delta, I would have been worried," he said.

"But when I got the Omicron variant, it was okay... you just get on with it."