Covid wave peaked in Singapore, but patient loads remain high: Report

Singapore, Jan 6 (IANS) The fresh wave of Covid-19 has peaked in Singapore, even though patient loads remain high in the country, according to doctors.

Channel News Asia reported that Covid cases have stabilised in Singapore, down by some 20 per cent from a high in December. However, some clinics still face higher than usual patient loads.

“The peak of all the upper respiratory tract infection cases has plateaued. Majority of people have already returned from travelling,” Dr John Cheng, head of primary care at Healthway Medical Group, was quoted as saying to CNA.

“Most of our clinics actually had enough buffer for all the acute and upper respiratory tract infections… to cater for a sudden surge of patient numbers.”

Healthway Medical now sees a daily average of 50 to 60 patients with respiratory infections across its 57 clinics.

This is some 10 per cent higher than regular patient loads, but a slight drop from the peak around Christmas, the report said.

“For the end of the year, there will definitely be a surge. And then, most of the time, during festive seasons, during holidays -- with more and more people interacting, more travellers (travelling) in and out -- we will be expecting some surges during those periods.”

Similarly, OneCare Medical is also seeing the number of cases stabilise across its 38 clinics.

“We feel that the ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) has already peaked, so we should see the numbers stabilise and probably slowly come down over the next few weeks, back to the usual baseline numbers,” Dr Jimmy Chew, CEO of OneCare Medical was quoted as saying.

Doctors are however anticipating possible surges in the coming months, and are planning for more manpower and medication supply, the report said.

“With Chinese New Year coming up, there will still be ongoing gatherings. And of course, there are still some travellers travelling, especially those who want to take advantage of the off-peak season,” said Chew.

“There might still probably be a bit of infectious diseases still ongoing. But of course, hopefully, we have already seen the peak of ARI cases, so that we will observe a downward trend in the coming weeks.”