23% week-on-week increase in Covid-19 infections, spike driven by Omicron subvariants: MOH

SINGAPORE has witnessed a 23 per cent week-on-week increase in Covid-19 community infections, with the rise largely driven by an increased spread of the newer Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Although the BA.2 subvariant still accounts for the bulk of Singapore's Covid-19 infections, the proportion of BA.4 and BA.5 infections is rising, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in an update on Tuesday (Jun 21).

About 30 per cent of the Covid-19 cases in the community in the past week were cases with BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, as compared to 17 per cent and 3 per cent for the previous 2 weeks respectively.

The BA.5 subvariant alone is estimated to contribute to 25 per cent of all cases so far this week, MOH said. The surge in BA.4 and BA.5 cases is likely to continue, driven by their higher transmissibility compared to BA.2.

Currently, international and local evidence shows that the severity of BA.4 and BA.5 infections is similar to that of earlier Omicron strains. The current safe management measures, including the requirement to wear masks while indoors and vaccination-differentiated measures for some higher-risk activities, will remain, MOH added. THE STRAITS TIMES