Minister of Health Singapore Ong Ye Kung said his country is preparing for a new wave Covid-19 varian OmicronSunday (5/6).
According to Ong, the new wave could appear because the community’s antibodies are starting to decrease. The wave is also said to be due to the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants.
He also predicts that this new wave of Omicron will take place in July or August.
“This is not due to a complicated modeling effort, but the fact that once the wave subsides, four to six months later, we have to expect another wave to emerge,” Ong said.
Ong went on to say, “Nothing will happen until a few months later when our antibodies subside, then you’ll see an increase in BA.4 and BA.5 in July or August.”
As reported by Channel News Asia, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are Omicron sub-variants that are the cause of the new wave of Covid-19 in South Africa.
The European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) even classifies the two variants as variants of concern.
Meanwhile, Singapore detected three community Covid19 cases involving the two variants in May. A total of two cases were caused by the BA.4 variant, while one case was caused by the BA.5 variant.
It said it would continue to observe the development of the case in the US and Europe. This is because a new wave of Covid-19 may occur in these areas before reaching Singapore.
“The most important thing is not the number of cases, but how many people are seriously ill. I believe with our strong resilience, we can pass the BA.4 and BA.5 waves,” said Ong.
The government’s prediction comes as Singapore is just starting an era of new normalcy and fully opens its borders to foreign tourists after implementing a lockdown (lockdown) has been tight for quite a while since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
(pwn/rds)
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