Singapore is witnessing an unusual surge of 5,324 new infections of COVID-19, according to the city-state’s health ministry. As beds in intensive care fill up, this is the highest such figure since the beginning of the pandemic.
With 3,277 infections the previous day, ten new deaths have been reported on Wednesday carrying the toll to 349. The ICU utilisation rate is nearing 80%, despite a population that is 84% fully vaccinated, with 14% receiving booster doses.
“The infection numbers are unusually high today, mostly due to many COVID-positive cases detected by the testing laboratories within a few hours in the afternoon,” the health ministry said in a statement.
“The Ministry of Health is looking into this unusual surge in cases within a relatively short window, and closely monitoring the trends for the next few days,” it added in Wednesday’s statement.
Nearly 98.7% of the past month’s 90,203 cases had no symptoms, or showed only mild ones. About 72 ICU beds were vacant by Wednesday, at an overall ICU use rate of 79.8%, with 142 coronavirus sufferers accounting for about half of occupied beds.
The ministry said it was adding more ICU beds. The Asian city-state, which has set aside 200 ICU beds to be used by COVID-19 patients, has the facility to add 100 more at short notice.
Last week, to contain the spread of the virus, it extended some social curbs for about a month and thus ease pressure on healthcare facilities. Authorities reinstated curbs limiting social interactions and dining out to two people, so as to slow infections.
