As the number of community cases of COVID-19 continues to rise in Singapore, concerns are raised on whether another Circuit Breaker might be on the horizon.

Newly appointed Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Sunday (16 May) that further monitoring by local authorities is needed before such a move is decided on at a later date.

On Sunday, Singapore reported 38 new community cases, 18 of which are unlinked. On top of that, there were 11 bew imported cases, bringing the total of the day to 49. It is the highest daily number of new COVID-19 infections reported since 14 April last year.

Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, Mr Ong said: “You can see the cases rising and whether the trajectory goes exponentially up or flatten – which did happen [during] Chinese New Year this year, we saw cases going up and then it flattened and then it disappeared – which direction it goes, we will only know in the coming days.

“So all I can say is as of now, we need to monitor the situation and then come to a decision later.”

He explained that there were questions that the authorities needed to find answers to.

Speaking on the stricter rules that have been implemented in Singapore Phase 2 (heightened alert) that is due to go on until 13 June, Mr Ong said that removing high-risk settings of enclosed spaces where people could take off their masks will make an impact on the number of cases in Singapore.

Additionally, that requirement as well as the move for all primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges and Millennia Institute to shift to home-based learning would “reduce activity even more.”

He added, “We know there will be an impact and I think we will only know in the coming days.”

Mr Ong went on to note that the authorities are monitoring to see if these new measures would help to “flush out cases more quickly”.

The newly-appointed Health Minister also noted that the MOH is continuing its study into the severity of COVID-19 among those who were infected post-vaccination and those who had been infected by vaccinations persons.

“As of now, we can say that for the 76 individuals who were vaccinated at least with one dose due to this round of outbreak, none require ICU. But we need to dive deeper into the data,” said Mr Ong.

“So really seek answers to these questions and when the time is right, we will make the right decisions.

“And if it has to come to more stringent measures, as [Finance Minister Lawrence Wong] has said… we will do so. And if it is a [circuit breaker], we will say it is a [circuit breaker].”

According to a comparison chart by Mothership.sg, the current Phase 2 is not the same as the previous Phase 2 introduced after Phase 1 following the Circuit Breaker in April 2020, but more akin to Phase 1.5.

Subscribe
Notify of
11 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Statement of concern on Thio Li-Ann as speaker at EU human rights seminar

The European Union Delegation to Singapore is organising a half-day seminar to…

7月也不行! 防备疫情复发民主党重申勿仓促选举

早前,有专家分析我国执政政府或会配合解封的第二阶段,将大选定在6月底至7月初举行。 5月28日,副总理兼财政部长王瑞杰也在访谈中声称选举临近,需要做好准备。但对此工人党也质问,应尽早公布具体在疫情下如何进行竞选的细节和详情。 对于盛传7月选举的揣测,民主党在今日(3日)发文告,认为我国刚结束近两个月的阻断措施,政府都还在摸索如何应对当前社会和经济局势。 在当前局势不明朗、冠状病毒19疫情后遗症还在持续的情况下,若7月举行选举,无疑将威胁国人的安全和健康。 即便贸工部长陈振声早前也坦言,选举局无法过早公布来届选举规则,理由是规则都可能会因疫情局势而需要调整转变。 民主党重申勿仓促举行选举,部长和政府机构理应集中精神和资源,防备疫情如同其他国家那般,出现复发现象。 该党敦促执政党不要重蹈覆辙,犯上三月份的疏失,因转移视线备战竞选,结果导致疫情大爆发。该党也认为,理应在疫情确实受控的情况下才状况选举,且各国已积极采取措施,相信冠病疫情终将能克服。 该党强调,选举既然不需要等到2021年4月才召开,但也可在今年底才进行。不过前提是人民行动党政府把群众健康摆在首位。

S’pore to bar entry for long-term pass holders, short-term visitors from Myanmar from 15 July onwards

Travellers from Myanmar will not be allowed entry into Singapore from 11.59pm…

Mindef Singapore to ensure safety of F-35 Joint Strike fighter jets prior to acquisition, in the aftermath of Japanese crash

In the aftermath of the Japanese F-3A fighter jet crash last Tue…