Be Prepared That Infected Children May Get Very Sick Or Die: MOH
Singapore is seeing an “exponentially rising wave of infection” in the community for the 1st time, and its mostly due to the Delta Variant.
Amid the hundreds of cases being reported daily are unfortunately some of the most vulnerable members of society – children.
More children in Singapore are getting infected with Covid-19 due to the Delta Variant, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has said.
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However, none of them have fallen severely ill, with all having mild or no symptoms.
Delta Variant dominant in Singapore now
This was revealed on Friday (10 Sep), during a press conference of the Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF) handling the pandemic.
MOH director of medical services Kenneth Mak said the Delta Variant was now the dominant strain causing infections in the community.
This is based on phylogenetic tests performed on cases to date.
Compared with other Covid-19 strains encountered in the last 20 months, the Delta Variant has caused a number of super-spreading events, he added.
No severely ill children
More worryingly for parents, Dr Mak also said the number of infected children has gone up due to the Delta Variant.
However, we’re “fortunate” that we haven’t seen children who’re severely ill, he pointed out, adding,
They have either been asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.
Sadder situation in other countries
However, there’s evidently still something to worry about.
Dr Mak noted that the situation’s not so positive in other countries like the United States (US).
Many children overseas have been admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to Covid-19.
There are also children who’ve sadly passed away.
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Prepare for very sick children: MOH
Looking at the situation in other countries, Singapore has to “prepare for every possibility”, Dr Mak said.
This is especially since we’re planning to live with Covid-19.
One of the possibilities we should prepare for is that children who get Covid-19 could get very sick.
Another possibility is that they could even pass away.
Vaccination is the key
Keeping such a dire outcome in view, Dr Mak stressed the importance of expanding our vaccination coverage.
He revealed that 90,000 seniors haven’t gotten their jab yet.
Also, pregnant women and women who want to have children in the near future should also get vaccinated, the doctor said.
Do protect our children
Whenever we hear news of children getting infected with Covid-19, it breaks our hearts that someone so young would have to go through such an illness.
While it’s comforting to know that none of them have fallen very sick, the possibility that this may happen strikes fear into our hearts.
Hopefully, no parent in Singapore will have to go through that pain.
If you have young children at home, do practice good hygiene and safe distancing to protect them.
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Featured image adapted from Aditya Romansa @ Unsplash. For illustration purposes only.
