For about two months now, Singaporeans have enjoyed the freedoms we dearly missed since the pandemic reached our shores. But we should not take the easing of safety measures for granted.
Recently, there has been an uptick in Covid-19 cases once again.
Despite this, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said there is no need to tighten safe management measures for now.
However, he noted that the government will make adjustments “if need be”.
Speaking after a tour of the Nee Soon Central mobile vaccination site on Monday (27 Jun), Mr Wong attributed the recent surge in cases to the newer Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
While more transmissible, the severity of these subvariants seems to be similar to earlier Omicron strains. However, he cannot completely rule it out either as more infections are reported.
Mr Wong said Singapore must expect cases to rise in the coming weeks. Thankfully, hospitals should be able to cope, and he believes we can ride through this wave based on the current posture.
In other words, we don’t need to tighten our safe management measures at this stage.
Still, authorities will be monitoring the situation closely over the coming weeks and make adjustments if necessary.
The two main considerations will be the hospital situation, as well as the infection trajectory.
Mr Wong also urged everyone to test themselves regularly if possible. To encourage them to do so, all households will receive 10 antigen rapid test (ART) kits sometime next month.
As Singapore readies itself for the next Omicron wave, Mr Wong also stressed the importance of seniors getting their vaccines.
Source: 8world on YouTube
To date, 70,000 seniors have not gotten their third shot, CNA reports.
On Monday, mobile vaccination teams were deployed to heartland locations like Ansar, Telok Blangah, and Nee Soon.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that 25 mobile vaccination teams will be deployed in the next two to three weeks. This will make it more convenient for seniors to get their shots.
Source: 8world on YouTube
These teams will stay at one location for two to three days before moving elsewhere. They will eventually cover up to 50 sites.
Seniors above 60 will be able to walk in and get their shots right away at these mobile vaccination sites.
For those below 60, vaccination slots will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, depending on venue space and vaccine availability.
Besides mobile vaccination sites, there are also ten Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs) in operation.
These centres are in the following locations:
Those aged 12 and above may walk into any of these centres to get their vaccinations or booster jabs.
While the rising Covid-19 cases may be worrying to some, rest assured that the authorities and healthcare sectors are prepared to handle them.
At the same time, the onus remains on each of us to abide by the prevailing measures and take our own precautions.
That way, we will be able to ride through any upcoming waves of infections as a nation together.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook and Facebook.
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