Ong Ye Kung confesses ‘feeling anxious’ about COVID spikes on Tuesdays

Singapore — Health Minister Ong Ye Kung wrote in a Facebook post late on Tuesday night (Oct 12) that Tuesdays had been making him feel anxious, because reports of Covid-19 cases tended to spike on that day.

This week, however, bucked this trend, he added. On Oct 12, 2,976 new infections were reported in the news. That meant, after recording between 3,483 and 3,703 new infections from Oct 5 to 9,  new cases were finally down below 3,000.

“I have been feeling anxious on Tuesdays, because that is when cases detected on Mondays would be reported, and it always spikeS after the weekends,” he wrote, adding, “The good news is that it didn’t today, to the great relief of the MTF.”

Mr Ong provided a graph showing the number of new Covid infections since Aug 18, with each number of new cases reported on Tuesday – as indicated in red –  reveal a rising pattern that jumped each Tuesday.

While new cases did increase between Oct 11 and  12, Mr Ong  did not seem to regard that as a spike.

Nevertheless, he did mention the number of Covid patients under treatment — including those needing supplementary oxygen and intensive care, as well as those who have died from Covid-related complications.

Eleven more deaths were reported on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 183.

The vast majority of new infections are still classified as mild or asymptomatic, and most of those who have tested positive qualify for the Home Recovery Programme which was launched last month.

“But we continue to have many patients who need oxygen supplement, ICU care. and sadly, passed on,” Mr Ong wrote, adding that the authorities will continue to keep a close eye on the trajectory of infections.

He ended his post on a cautiously optimistic note, saying that the measures to curb transmissions appear to be working, observing that “stabilisation measures are helping to moderate the transmission wave, and infection numbers are no longer doubling every week”.

This is important to our healthcare system and our healthcare workers,”  he said. /TISG

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