UPDATE ON LOCAL COVID-19 SITUATION

       COVID-19 infections have been on the rise in Singapore over the past two weeks. However, there is no indication that the variants circulating locally are more transmissible or cause more severe disease. While hospitalisations and ICU cases have increased, the numbers are not high like during the pandemic.

2.    The estimated number of COVID-19 cases in the week of 26 November to 2 December 2023 rose to 32,035 cases, compared to 22,094 cases in the previous week. The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations rose to 225 from 136 the week before, and the average daily Intensive Care Unit (ICU) cases increased to four cases compared to one case in the previous week.

3.    This has added workload to our hospitals, which are already busy. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is closely tracking the trajectory of this wave to ensure that our healthcare capacity is able to cope.

4.    The increase in cases could be due to a number of factors, including waning population immunity and increased travel and community interactions during the year-end travel and festive season. Cases infected by JN.1, a sublineage of BA.2.86, currently account for over 60 percent of COVID-19 cases in Singapore. While BA.2.86 and its sublineages have been classified as a Variant of Interest by the World Health Organization since 21 November 2023, there are currently no indications, globally or locally, that BA.2.86 or JN.1 are more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other circulating variants. 

Exercising personal and social responsibility is key 

5. We urge the public to exercise precaution, personal and social responsibility. The most important precautionary measures are:

a. Practise good personal hygiene, such as frequent hand washing;
b. When unwell, stay at home, and minimise contact with other people, especially seniors and those who are vulnerable;
c. At a crowded place, particularly if not well-ventilated, consider wearing a mask; and
d. When travelling overseas, stay vigilant and adopt relevant travel precautions, such as wearing a mask at the airport, purchasing travel insurance, and avoiding crowded areas with poor ventilation.

Please visit MOH’s Health Advisory for Travellers at www.moh.gov.sg/diseasesupdates/travel-advisory for more information.

6.   We also urge the public to seek medical treatment at a hospital’s Emergency
Department only for serious or life-threatening emergencies. This will preserve our
hospital capacity for patients who truly need acute hospital care and allow those with
severe illness to receive timely treatment. 

Vaccination remains effective in protecting against severe illness 

7. Everyone is advised to keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. This includes an additional dose around one year after their last vaccine dose for those aged 60 years and above, medically vulnerable persons, and residents of aged care facilities. Beyond this group, all individuals aged six months and above are also encouraged to receive the additional dose, particularly for healthcare workers and household members/ caregivers of medically vulnerable individuals.

8. The updated COVID-19 monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna/Spikevax vaccines have been available at our Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres, participating Public Health Preparedness Clinics and selected polyclinics since November 2023, and continue to be free. Please refer to
https://gowhere.gov.sg/vaccine for the nearest vaccination site and the types of
vaccines offered at each site.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
8 DECEMBER 2023