Singapore ― Lawrence Wong announced on Monday (Sept 27) that the Government is ramping up resources in order to prepare for the possibility of more than 5,000 new Covid-19 infections a day.
Lawrence Wong’s announcement has led to widespread concern among netizens because just last Friday (Sept 24), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that Singapore must act now to slow down the unexpectedly rapid pace of increase in Covid-19 cases, which, if left unchecked, will lead to a daily new case count of 3,200 in the next week.
Lawrence Wong said that although 0.2 percent of Covid-19 positive cases require treatment in intensive care units (ICU), around 50 times the number of infected cases require close monitoring in the hospital as they could be older, and have serious symptoms or comorbidities.
He added that out of the possibility of more than 5,000 new Covid-19 cases a day, about ten percent may need to be warded for at least a week. “That is a lot of hospital beds, and that is what we are trying to do, to augment our hospital system with medical centers, medical facilities. It is not just equipment, it is medical personnel as well. And we are trying to bring all of that on board so that the system as a whole is able to cope with a larger volume of cases,” said the minister.
Lawrence Wong keeps shifting goalposts
Netizens who commented expressed their confusion because of the ‘goalposts’ that have been constantly shifted.
Speaking during a press conference by the national Covid-19 task force, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said: “As of now, (the daily case count) is still increasing and each daily jump is a big absolute number and adds pressure on our healthcare system.”
“Looking at the momentum, it will cross 1,600 cases a day and proceed to the next doubling cycle to 3,200. Whether it completes (this cycle) we don’t know, whether it gallops there or slows down and reaches there slowly, this is something we need to observe.” /TISG
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