S'pore Health Minister says 15K-20K Covid cases within expectation

Singapore: Singapore's Health Minister has said that 15,000-20,000 infections per day is something within expectations in the city-state and the recent rise in COVID-19 cases was not unexpected given that the Omicron variant is highly transmissible.

On Saturday, Singapore reported 10,505 new COVID-19 cases, the fourth time this week that daily infections have exceeded the 10,000 mark. It also reported eight deaths linked to the virus.

"Omicron is highly transmissible so reaching 15,000-20,000 or more is something within our expectations. So far, it's been that. It's been staying around 10,000 for some days, which gives us some comfort," Channel News Asia quoted Health Minister Ong Ye Kung as saying on Saturday.

Despite the increase in cases, Ong noted that the city state's healthcare system is still holding up.

"But as we have mentioned many times, the top line is much less important. The top line is important in the sense that we know where we are on the epidemic curve, that is still important information. But what's more important is the impact on the healthcare capacity," said Ong.

"The percentage of people requiring oxygen has remained the same. So the numbers have not changed," the Health

Minister said.