Lawrence Wong: Expect new wave of COVID-19 cases in coming weeks, S’pore has done what it can to prepare

Singapore — Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said that Singapore must expect a new wave of Covid-19 cases in the coming days and weeks due to the Omicron variant.

“It has been more than a month since the emergence of the Omicron variant. Initially, we had adopted a more cautious containment approach” to buy time and slow down transmission, said Mr Wong in a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 27).

Mr Wong highlighted that the current vaccines and boosters are also effective in protecting the public against severe illnesses caused by Omicron, despite being more transmissible yet less severe than the Delta variant.

“We are now adjusting our protocols to manage the Omicron cases in the same way as we do for Delta,” said Mr Wong.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that beginning Monday, Omicron cases will be allowed to recover at home under the home recovery programme or managed at community care facilities instead of being isolated in dedicated facilities by default.

We will then prioritise our healthcare resources for the more severe cases, as well as those who are more vulnerable, added Mr Wong.

He urged those who have not been vaccinated or received a booster shot to do so right away, as these remain a key strategy in defending against the Omicron variant.

“Without the vaccine, you will face restrictions on your movement, including not being able to go back to the office. These restrictions are necessary to protect you from severe illness due to the virus,” said Mr Wong.

He also said that Omicron spreading across the community was inevitable.

On Monday (Dec 27), MOH reported 280 new Covid-19 cases.

A total of 101 new Omicron cases were confirmed, of which 22 are local and 79 imported.

“We must expect a new wave of cases in the coming days and weeks,” said Mr Wong.

“But we have done whatever we can to prepare for this next wave, and we can weather through it together as one people.” /TISG

Read related: Calvin Cheng on OMICRON cases being allowed to recover at home: “Very good. We win. Turtles lose.”

Calvin Cheng on OMICRON cases being allowed to recover at home: “Very good. We win. Turtles lose.”