More COVID 19 infections and a new coronavirus wave are expected as more people take part in the upcoming festivities and increase year-end travel, but it won't be something that Singapore has never seen before, said On Sunday December 4 Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, the new year coming, there's bound to be more infections, but it's not something we've never seen before, he said.
He added that Singapore saw three waves of the COVID 19 in 2022 -- the BA. The wave driven by the BA was driven by the 2 Omicron subvariant in April. In July there were 5 subvariants and a recent wave driven by the XBB variant.
There is a new wave but it is not something we have never seen before, said Mr Ong on the sidelines of a Chinese Development Assistance Council CDAC event held at Nanyang Junior College.
The government will be monitoring developments overseas, according to Ong.
As winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, a new variant of concern that may emerge is something that people should be aware of, according to Ong.
He also touched on China's COVID 19 situation.
It looks like they are shifting their policy when China opens up more. There are going to be more infections if they do so. There are bound to be new variants of concern when there are more and more people in China, given the density and the enormous population of China, said Mr Ong.
Mr Ong said that the country's direction has been very clear for the past year, as for Singapore. We are left with very few rules and pretty much everything has gone back to normal.