Singapore: Are you planning to travel to Singapore? You might want to exercise caution as the government pointed out that Covid-19 wave of infections is near its peak, “if not at the peak” already.
Singapore reported 12,784 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 1,485,964. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung also asserted that the current wave is driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron sub-variants. Hopefully, it will not cause any severe infection. The President and the Parliament Speaker have also tested positive for Covid-19. However, in a bid to avoid serious illness, the government urged the elderly to take booster shots.
The country is one of the most highly vaccinated societies in the world, with over 90% of its 5.5 million population having been double-vaccinated, and more than three in four having received a booster. The health ministry also issued new COVID rules for the hospitals. In a recent advisory, the ministry said, it will limit the number of visitors to hospital wards and nursing homes as well as reduce the general duration of individual visits to 30 minutes. The new rules, designed to protect hospital capacity as well as patients and nursing home residents, will be in effect from July 7 to August 3 and include the pre-designation of visitors. A total of 683 cases are currently warded in hospitals in Singapore with 16 cases in ICUs. Two new deaths were reported from Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 1421. (With inputs from agencies)
