COVID-19: New XBB sub-variant likely to peak in mid-November, says MOH

SINGAPORE — The Omicron VBB sub-variant which is driving up COVID-19 infection cases is expected to peak in mid-November, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday (15 October).

The strain - which was first detected in India in August - is now the predominant sub-variant circulating in the community, accounting for 54 per cent of local cases during the week of 3 to 9 October, up from 22 per cent in the previous week.

The previously dominant sub-variant, BA.5, is now estimated to account for 21 per cent of local cases, while another sub-variant, BA.2.75, is estimated to account for 24 per cent of cases.

Observations from countries with the XBB sub-variant have suggested that it is at least as transmissible as currently variants, but does not cause more severe illness.

However, MOH said there is evidence that XBB may be driving an increase in reinfections, with about 17 per cent of total new cases last month being reinfected cases.

"Given that immunity from natural infection in the population is likely waning over time, this underscores the importance of ensuring minimum protection from vaccination and keeping our vaccinations up to date to protect us against severe infections," MOH said in its media release.

Still, should the situation worsen, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that Singapore cannot rule out having to reinstate safe management measures, such as putting on face masks indoors or outdoors.

"Endemicity means that we accept (COVID-19) exists, and take the necessary steps to live with it. So we must accept that some parts of our lives must change, in order for us to live with this virus," he said.

"As much as possible, we do not want it to disrupt our normal lives, and therefore we try our very best to never go back to Circuit Breaker or Heightened Alert, or anything that severely disrupts our normal lives. We will take necessary precautions in order to manage the situation."

Hospitalised cases proportionate to rise in cases

The seven-day moving average of local COVID-19 cases rose from 4,714 to 7,716 over the past week.

However, the increase in hospitalised cases remains proportionate to the rise in overall local cases. More importantly, the number of severe cases has remained low.

As of Friday, the number of cases hospitalised, requiring oxygen supplementation and in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at 562, 44 and 9 respectively, compared to 365, 37 and 13 a week ago.

"Using the BA.5 wave as an indication, hospitalised cases then peaked at 800 in July, and our hospitals, while stretched, were able to cope with the numbers," said the ministry.

"Given that we are able to quickly ramp up to the same capacity and beyond, our projections on healthcare utilisation show that we have adequate ICU, hospital and COVID-19 Treatment Facility (CTF) beds to cope with the upcoming wave."

Hospitals to activate more beds

Public hospitals have activated an additional 200 beds to care for hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the past two weeks. These beds are activated by deferring non-urgent admissions, discharging stable patients home or to nursing homes, and transferring recovering patients to transitional care facilities and community hospitals.

In the coming two weeks, public hospitals will operate a total of more than 800 beds for COVID-19 patients. CTF capacity will also be ramped up in stages, to be able to provide 800-odd beds by early November.

The public are advised to go to the Emergency Department (ED) only for emergency conditions as hospitals’ continue to see a high number of patients daily, mostly for non-COVID related conditions.

To relieve the load on general practitioner clinics and polyclinics, MOH urges employers not to require medical certificates from employees who have either self-tested positive for COVID-19 or have Acute Respiratory Infection symptoms.

The ministry also encourages those with mild flu-like symptoms to consider teleconsultation with their doctor.

Taking bivalent Moderna/Spikevax vaccine

With the bivalent Moderna/Spikevax vaccine - which is available in Singapore since Friday - able to target both the original COVID-19 strain as well as the Omicron variant, MOH is encouraging those who are eligible for their next vaccine dose to take the Modern/Spikevax vaccine at any of its joint testing and vaccination centres.

Meanwhile, the ministry has also updated its healthcare protocols for infants and pregnant women. Currently, they are placed under Protocol 1's home recovery programme, in which MOH will check on their recovery.

From 25 October, these two groups will be managed as Protocol 2 - self-recovery at home or under the care of their primary doctors - as the risk of severe COVID-19 disease is low among them.

These patients should continue to monitor themselves closely for signs and symptoms of concern - such as shortness of breath, chest pain or persistent fever - while recovering at home. If signs and symptoms worsen, they should seek medical attention.

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