Singapore is once again back to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) due to a recent spike of community Covid-19 cases. But while the rise of positive cases has a part in why the country has returned to this phase, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung says there are three other reasons that were considered.
So what are these real reasons we’re back to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)?
According to Mr Ong who spoke at a press conference on Tuesday (20 July), the three key considerations were hospital capacity, number of unvaccinated seniors, and community exposure to Covid-19.
The Main Reason For Singapore’s Return To Phase 2 (Heightened Alert): 3 Key Considerations
As for the reason Singapore returned to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), it isn’t just due to the spike of community cases.
Mr Ong elaborated on the three key considerations the country’s authorities took note of. These three reasons are of the following:
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1. Ensure Hospital Capacity Is Not Compromised
As Covid cases continue to rise, this could greatly impact the capacity of hospitals. Seeing as those aged 60 and above are being infected, Mr Ong says almost every one of them could end up in the hospital.
Mr Ong pointed out that even if only 10% of 200,000 unvaccinated elderly become infected, this would still mean around 20,000 need to be hospitalised.
There is also a possibility that 10 to 15% of them may require intensive unit care (ICU).
“That’s 2,000 to 3,000 who will end up in ICU – it’s a huge, huge number,” said Mr Ong.
Being under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) could prevent the hospital capacities from getting an overload of patients.
As per The Straits Times, Mr Ong said, “We still have headroom to withstand the pressure. But if the cases keep on rising or keep at today’s level and carry on for a couple of weeks, it can come under significant pressure.”
“We are still in an okay position, but don’t take that for granted,” he added.
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2. Vaccination For More Seniors
ST reports that there are 81 seniors aged 60 and above that were infected in the past week and 12 of them were not vaccinated.
So while around half of Singapore’s population are fully vaccinated, there are still around 200,000 aged 60 and above who are not.
“This is of great concern to us, because almost 30 per cent of the elderly population above 70 years old remain unvaccinated,” noted Mr Ong.
He added, “Given the speed of infections, and the rate that the new clusters are growing, we will need to temporarily slow down the spread of the virus to give us time to raise the coverage of our vaccination programme, especially among the older population to protect them against the infection.”
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3. Reduce Further Community Exposure
While the KTV cluster has spread among younger individuals, the current wave of community cases affect a wider part of the population in Singapore.
This rise in cases in various markets and food centres affects a wider spectrum of people, including seniors.
“The porous nature of our food centres and our hawker centres also increases the risk of cryptic and silent transmission that is hard to detect,” said Mr Ong in the press conference held by the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19.
So the real reason that Singapore is once again under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) is not just a rise in new cases, but also more time taken for people to get vaccinated.
Let us do our part in following the new restrictions and try to stay home as much as possible.
Stay safe!
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