Singapore faces ‘snakes and ladders’ situation on Omicron variant: Ong Ye Kung, Health News & Top Stories

SINGAPORE – The Covid-19 situation in Singapore can be compared to a game of snakes and ladders with the Omicron variant determining whether the country remains on track to live with the virus, the Minister of Justice said on Tuesday (November 30th). Health Ong Ye Kung.

If it is more infectious or harmful than other existing variants, and if current vaccines do not work well against it, the country will have landed on a “snake.”

“We’re going to come down and that will take us back a long way,” said Ong, who co-chairs the multi-ministerial pandemic working group.

If the variant turns out to be milder but more infectious, it could become dominant over the Delta variant – a positive sign that could allow Singapore to take a leap forward in its efforts to treat Covid-19 as an endemic disease.

“We do not know what will be the next roll of the dice and in which box we will land,” said the minister at a press conference chaired by the task force.

“It might just be another variation that doesn’t have much impact. You land in the boring square and we continue on our current path of transitioning to life with Covid-19 as a resilient nation. “

As Singapore and the world strive to learn more about the new variant, Ong said the country will take a cautious approach by implementing measures to prevent the Omicron variant from establishing itself in the community.

Little is known about the variant, which was first detected in South Africa and has yet to be reported in Singapore.

Scientists have reported a large number of mutations in the variant spike protein – the part of the virus that attaches to human cells. This has raised concerns about the possible impact of the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Authorities are monitoring the situation closely, the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

In particular, they are looking for information on the transmissibility and incubation period of the new variant, as well as how long patients remain infectious, the severity of the disease and whether existing vaccines are effective against it.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said border measures were Singapore’s first line of defense against the Omicron variant.

They give the country time to strengthen its other defenses.

Even so, experience has shown that the country cannot rely solely on such measures to stop the new variant, as countries with very strict border regimes, such as China and New Zealand, have seen Delta epidemics, he said.

This means that vaccination and booster shots, as well as contact tracing and safe management measures remain essential, he added.

Singapore’s approach has been to remain nimble and quickly adjust measures based on new information that emerges, to ensure that its various lines of defense hold up, Wong said.

“This will not be the last worrying variant. There will be new mutations and we just need to be prepared. It just might be that Omicron isn’t that threatening, a bit of a non-event. It is possible, hopefully. It may turn out to be worse.

“But it may also be that another transfer on the road next year will prove to be much more threatening.”

The minister acknowledged that people will feel “a certain level of weariness or fatigue” upon hearing news of this new variant, as the world now enters the third year of the pandemic.

“But I hope we can also draw strength from our responses over the past two years – how we have kept each other confident and supported each other on this journey,” he said. .

“And if we continue with this approach, we can stand united, come together and all do our part to navigate this pandemic as one people. “