Plans to raise capacity to treat Covid-19 patients

There are plans to convert normal wards into isolation wards, and quarantine facilities into care centres for Covid-19 patients with less severe symptoms or those who are recovering.

These are some of the options available if the number of cases here continues to rise, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday. Non-Covid-19 patients could also be transferred to private hospitals to free up capacity at public hospitals, he said.

"Today, I visited Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. They have contingency plans to turn normal wards into isolation wards," Mr Gan said.

Singapore announced 47 new cases yesterday, its highest single-day increase, bringing the total number of cases here to 313.

Mr Gan outlined the plans when asked during a news conference if Singapore's healthcare system was close to hitting the limit of its capacity.

He said any adjustments made to Singapore's strategy to deal with the virus would have to be progressive and gradual. "We have a few options. Currently, close to 80 per cent of the cases we see that do not need much support or medical attention are kept in hospitals for various reasons... The bulk of these can be housed elsewhere."

"One possibility is to look at some long-term care facilities that come with sufficient safeguards because they are medical facilities, or converting quarantine facilities that can provide minimal medical care, including swabs and some attention to medical needs," Mr Gan added. Quarantine facilities are currently used to house suspect cases. He said arrangements can be made to move patients back to nearby hospitals if their conditions worsen.

There are also collaborations with private hospitals "to see if we can send some non-Covid patients to them". Mr Gan said: "Some of these can be stepped up so that we can preserve capacity in our public hospitals. Some private hospitals also are equipped to handle Covid patients... We must underline the emphasis on one healthcare system."

Even as various options are being considered, Singapore must not be complacent, he stressed. "Although we have a buffer and there are plans to expand this buffer, we must do all we can to reduce the number of new cases and flatten the curve."