For quite some time now, the authorities have been warning about an imminent wave of Omicron cases. The number of such cases in Singapore has also been steadily rising over recent days and weeks.
On Wednesday (19 Jan), Singapore reported 1,185 Omicron cases, of which 965 were local infections.
This is the first time that Singapore has reported a 4-digit daily Omicron case count.
In an update on its website, the Ministry of Health (MOH) shared that there were 1,615 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday (19 Jan).
This is the highest number of daily cases since 27 Nov 2021, about 2 months ago.
Of the cases, 1,205 were local infections while the remaining 410 were imported from overseas.
High case counts aside, what’s perhaps more worrying are the Omicron cases.
According to MOH, 1,185 new Omicron cases were reported on Wednesday (19 Jan), the first time Singapore reported 4-digit daily Omicron cases.
Unlike previous days where local and imported Omicron cases accounted for roughly 50% of the total each, the vast majority of Omicron infections on 19 Jan happened locally:
Our weekly infection growth rate has also risen sharply to 1.96.
For those who may not be familiar with the indicator, it tracks the ratio of cases over the last 7 days to the same period before that.
A figure of 1.96 suggests that we have about twice as many cases over the last 7 days compared to the same period before.
The weekly infection growth rate on 19 Jan is also the highest we’ve seen since Sep 2021.
Despite the high number of cases, the majority of patients over the last 28 days were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms.
Only about 0.8% of these patients required oxygen treatment, ICU care, or had succumbed to their infections.
Given the sharp spike in cases recently, it’s safe to say that the surge isn’t going away anytime soon.
As with previous waves of cases, we hope Singaporeans will prioritise their safety and avoid taking unnecessary risks during these uncertain times.
Hopefully, our healthcare system will also be robust enough to meet the demands when the Omicron wave strikes.
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Featured image adapted from youthsg on Flickr.
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