SINGAPORE – The number of people hospitalized has also increased over the past eight weeks from the week of 5 March, amid the fairly high tally of Covid-19 infections reported here.
Between 23 and 29 April, 568 people were hospitalized and 15 were sent to the intensive care unit (ICU).
In the four weeks from 2-29 April, 47 patients were admitted to the ICU, up from 43 in the first three months of the year.
On average, Covid-19 patients occupied 317 hospital beds per day in the last week of April, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH). In the last week of March, it occupied an average of about 180 beds.
In the same week, 22,651 people were diagnosed with Covid-19. This represents a drop of more than 20% compared to the previous week, but as he was one of just four weeks this year when the number of cases crossed 20,000, the number was remains relatively high.
The actual number of infected people may be much higher than reported. However, with more than 80% of the population receiving at least three doses of the vaccine, and the infection is now being treated by authorities like other endemic diseases, reporting is no longer necessary.
The majority of infected people do not become seriously ill.
Dr. Asok Kurup, an infectious disease specialist who practices at Mount Elizabeth Medical Center, said he has seen more Covid-19 patients in the past six weeks.
Most people have mild to moderate infections but see him rather than their general practitioner (GP) because they have other underlying medical conditions.
For example, one of his patients is a liver transplant recipient and has low levels of immunity. They are mostly treated as outpatients, and only 10%, he said, require hospitalization.
According to the World Health Organization, as of April 26, Singapore has reported 2.34 million Covid-19 infections and 1,722 deaths.
According to MOH data, 30 people died in the first three months of 2023, two of them under the age of 60. This number is likely lower than deaths from influenza.
Before Covid-19, there were about 50 deaths each month from the flu.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/number-of-people-hospitalised-for-covid-19-continues-to-increase The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 continues to rise