Singapore had reported 12,784 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday by noon, as the Health Ministry prepared to restrict hospital visits down this week. There were two fatalities, which took the overall death toll to 1,421, in the country which had reported its first COVID case in January 2020.
Of all cases, 12,248 infections were reported among the local people, and 536 among those who had arrived from abroad. Singapore has recorded 1,485,964 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Tuesday’s was the highest single-day spike in over last three months. The last time Singapore reported more daily cases than this was on March 22 this year, when it logged 13,166 infections.
Hospitals and residential care homes will impose limits on the number of visitors for four weeks from Thursday, amid a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore, reported Channel News Asia.
There will also be a cap on the duration of visits to these facilities, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday.
The measures, which will be in effect from July 7 to August 3, are to protect health care capacity as well as vulnerable patients and residents during this period, authorities said.
MOH said it will review these measures regularly as the situation evolves.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told Parliament on Tuesday that Singapore is near, if not already, at the peak of the current wave of COVID-19 infections.
He said the wave will not be as severe as the previous Omicron wave, as many people have gained stronger immunity through booster shots or recovery from infections, which will reduce transmission of the virus.
