Covid-19 cases peak in Singapore as clinics brace for surge: Report
Covid-19 has peaked in Singapore as clinics in the country are loaded with patients, doctors have warned. According to a Channel News Asia report, clinics in Singapore are already planning for more manpower and medication supplies in anticipation of another surge in the months ahead.
Currently, Healthway Medical sees an average of 50 to 60 patients come in daily with respiratory infections across its 57 clinics, the report said.
This is around 10% higher than regular patient loads but a slight drop from the peak around Christmas.
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Singapore’s OneCare Medical also saw Covid-19 cases stabilising across its 38 clinics. It said cases are less likely to go up significantly again in the near term.
“We feel that the ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) has already peaked, so we should see the numbers stabilise and probably slowly come down over the next few weeks, back to the usual baseline numbers,” CNA quoted CEO of OneCare Medical Dr Jimmy Chew.
The threat of a resurgence of the virus looms next month as the Chinese New Year comes up, doctors said.
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However, there has been a fall in the count of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). According to The Straits Times, 496 patients were hospitalised between 24 December to 30 December but in the previous week, 864 were admitted.
In the last week of December, 13 people needed intensive care as compared to 23 in the previous week.
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The Covid-19 cases in Singapore spiked mainly between 10 December and 16 December with an estimated 58,300 people infected.
Covid-19 in US
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that hospitalisations increased by 20.4% in the week ended December 30 in the US.
The agency added that the Covid subvariant JN.1 accounts for about 62% of cases in the US.
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As per the CDC, JN.1 is now the most widely circulated variant in the US and globally.
It is also the dominant variant in Europe and is rising sharply in Asia, the CDC said.
In December, the World Health Organization classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest” and said current evidence shows the risk to public health was low from the strain.
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Published: 06 Jan 2024, 08:06 AM IST
