OMICRON update: 2,600 imported cases so far

Singapore — Transport Minister S Iswaran said in Parliament on Monday (Jan 10) that there have been around 2,600 imported Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant to date, which is about 60 per cent of the total number of infections from the new variant.

However, the Minister pointed out that fewer than ten per cent of these infections have been from short-term visitors. The vast majority of imported Omicron infections were found in citizens, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders who’ve returned home to Singapore lately.

The top three countries where Omicron infections came from have been the United States and Britain, both of which are responsible for 16 per cent of the cases, and India, which is responsible for 11 per cent of the Omicron variant. All three countries have seen a recent surge in Omicron infections.

The number of infections also reflect a higher traffic volume at Changi Airport, which at the end of last month had reached 15 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

At the beginning of 2021, traffic was only at three per cent.

Mr Iswaran sounded optimistic that the aviation industry will continue to improve throughout this year, “barring unexpected setbacks like Omicron.”

The higher traffic at Changi Airport was because the Vaccination Travel Lane scheme was implemented toward the end of the year, he added.

He mentioned that the VTL scheme was adjusted last month to prevent Omicron from spreading too quickly, but added that the goal is to “to work towards quarantine-free travel for all vaccinated travellers.”

Meanwhile, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung also told Parliament on Monday that the present pandemic measures will only be tightened as a “last resort” if the healthcare system is under heavy strain.

Mr Ong said that the multi-ministry task force assigned to manage the pandemic hopes “that we can ride through the Omicron wave with the current safe management measures. 

If we have to tighten the restrictions, it will be as a last resort when our healthcare system is under severe pressure.”

He again warned that a significantly larger infection wave due to the Omicron variant is to be expected, due to the variant’s greater transmissibility. 

“If Delta infections reached a sustained incidence of about 3,000 cases a day, Omicron could perhaps reach 10,000 to 15,000 cases a day, or more. Cases are likely to double every two to three days. So once cases start to rise steeply, within a couple of weeks, we may see 3,000 Omicron cases a day,” Mr Ong told the House. 

But Singapore’s experience with Omicron infections has so far been manageable, given that the newer strain is causing less severe disease than the Delta variant.

So far, there have been a total of 4,322 Omicron infections in Singapore. Among these, 308 were senior citizens ages 60 and older.

“Eight needed oxygen supplementation and all of them have been taken off oxygen after a short few days. None required ICU care as yet,” the Health Minister said.

If these infections were from the Delta strain, between 50 and 60 patients would have needed oxygen supplementation or intensive care, or perhaps would even have died. /TISG

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