Health Minister reassures that the current surge is not expected to exceed the severity of earlier Omicron infections.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung confirmed on Tuesday (June 28) that Singapore is currently experiencing a new wave of COVID-19 infections. He reassured the public that this surge is not anticipated to be more severe than the wave observed in February, which was driven by the BA.2 Omicron subvariant.
Earlier in June, during the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) annual Work Plan Seminar, Mr. Ong indicated that the next wave might arrive in “a matter of months,” with projections for July or August. In a TikTok video released on June 20, he reiterated, “In the next one or two months, we expect a new Omicron wave, but do not worry; with vaccination, we can all be safe.”
However, the new wave has arrived sooner than anticipated, potentially due to an influx of travelers returning from overseas holidays, as he explained to Lianhe Zaobao following the 30th annual general meeting of the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC).
On Tuesday, the MOH reported 11,504 new COVID-19 cases, marking the highest daily count since March 22 and double the 5,309 cases reported the previous day. In comparison, last Tuesday (June 21) saw 7,109 new cases, also doubling the prior day’s count of 3,220.
“I previously indicated that the next wave might occur around July or August, but it has arrived a bit earlier, at the end of June—likely due to the June holidays,” Mr. Ong stated.
The MOH noted that the recent surge in community cases is primarily attributed to the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, although the majority of infections are still caused by the BA.2 variant. The ministry highlighted that approximately 45 percent of cases in the past week were linked to these subvariants, with the BA.5 variant accounting for 40 percent of recent infections. Similar trends are being observed globally, particularly in Europe and the United States.
