S'pore facing 3 uncertainties as it moves to new normal: Ong

Singapore is staying on course to transition to a new normal of living with Covid-19 but it faces three uncertainties: The rate of increase of daily infection numbers, the fatality rate and the burden on hospital resources, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

Providing an update on the state of the pandemic here yesterday, Mr Ong said that Singapore needs to adjust its plans, depending on what the Delta Covid-19 variant throws at the nation.

"It is the only way for us to recover from Covid-19 as a people, as a nation," he said at a virtual media conference by the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 here.

"We may seem like we are trailing some European countries", which have reopened and are living their lives quite normally, he said.

"But remember they paid a huge price in human lives, mostly last year."

He added that Singapore will do whatever it can to minimise deaths from Covid-19, and it is also the reason the Republic is opening up only after it has vaccinated the vast majority of its population.

"So, we will ride out this wave differently, safely and successfully."

Currently, Covid-19 cases are in their fourth doubling cycle. It is still unclear if the daily infection numbers will eventually turn the corner, even though there are some signs of a slower rate of increase, he said.

"So how the trajectory will turn out in the coming weeks will be a big uncertainty... Looking at the current momentum, daily infection numbers will cross 1,600 cases a day... But no transmission wave lasts forever," he said.

If the doubling of cases continues, Singapore could see 3,200 cases a day next month, he added.

Second, it is unclear how many more patients will fall seriously ill and die.

This number is at a much lower level due to the protective effect of vaccinations. Twenty-three Covid-19 patients are in the intensive care unit (ICU) as at yesterday.

The situation so far remains stable, but ICU numbers lag behind infection numbers by around 10 to 14 days, Mr Ong said.

Third, each daily increase in infection numbers is a big absolute number and will add pressure to Singapore's healthcare system, he said.

"The Delta variant doesn't follow our script," he said, noting that this current wave of infections came faster than expected and happened before the Ministry of Health's (MOH) ramped-up plans were fully implemented.

To cope with the rise in cases, the number of Covid-19 hospital beds will increase from 1,000 to 1,600. "But it comes at the expense of some degradation of normal services," he said.

To reduce the strain on hospital resources, the MOH commissioned a new class of facilities for closer monitoring and management of Covid-19 patients with chronic illnesses.

Singapore's first Covid-19 stepped-up community treatment facility in Tampines opened on Thursday, with around 300 community treatment beds.

Another 200 beds will be set aside at Sengkang General Hospital for this purpose.

Separately, Singapore has rolled out a home recovery programme, with more than 40 per cent of daily cases put on it now.

Without the home recovery programme, the healthcare system would have been overwhelmed, Mr Ong said.