Lawrence Wong said the uptick in the number of infections is driven by the newer BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants. - ST
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): There is no need to tighten safe management measures for now but this cannot be ruled out as more Covid-19 infections are reported, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Stressing the need for vigilance and testing, he announced that all households will receive 10 ART test kits. Distribution will begin sometime next month.
Speaking to reporters after touring a mobile vaccination centre at Nee Soon Central, Wong said that the uptick in the number of infections is driven by the newer BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants.
"We should expect cases to continue to rise", he said.
While there is no evidence yet that the current infections are more severe, and with hospitals still able to cope with the situation, Singapore should be able to "ride through this wave" without having to tighten existing rules.
But the situation is fluid, said Wong, who was with Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
On Tuesday (June 21), the Health Ministry said the BA.4 and BA.5 variants accounted for around 30 per cent of all virus cases in the past week, up from 17 per cent the week before.
