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Singapore recommends people maintain COVID-19 booster shots

Singapore's latest spike in COVID-19 cases may be starting to peak but the public needs to stay up to date on vaccinations, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on December 21.
Singapore recommends people maintain COVID-19 booster shots ảnh 1Singapore recommends people maintain COVID-19 booster shots. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Singapore (VNA) – Singapore'slatest spike in COVID-19 cases may be starting to peak but thepublic needs to stay up to date on vaccinations, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung saidon December 21.

The country reported 56,043 COVID-19 cases inthe week of December 3 to 9, marking a 75% surge compared to the week before.The previous high recorded was 28,410 infections in the week to March 26.

A new COVID strain, the JN.1 variant, which has been classifiedas a "variant of interest" by the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO), accounts for the "vastmajority" of the country's latest wave of infections.

Inaddition to vaccination and booster shots, the country's "primarydefense" against COVID-19, the health ministry has also urgedthe public to wear masks in crowded spaces even if they are not sick,particularly in the airport and other indoor settings.

The minister maintained that the number of hospitalisationsremain a key metric to watch. The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations roseto 350 from 225.

Singaporeexited the acute phase of COVID-19 in February and entered the endemic norm. The island-nationsubsequently scrapped mandatory mask-wearing on public transport and indoorhealth-care settings, amongst other community measures such as working fromhome protocols and limits on group sizes./.

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