Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has issued a statement debunking claims that the Omicron XBB subvariant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus is more “toxic” than the Delta variant, is difficult to detect, and has a higher mortality rate.
No clear dominant strain On Apr. 19, the ministry posted on Facebook to explain that both international and local data show that the Omicron XBB subvariant is milder than the Delta variant, and does not have a higher mortality rate.
Current Covid-19 tests are also able to detect infections, including those caused by the XBB strains.
The ministry also stressed that out of all the various strains detected in the local community now, there is no clear dominant strain.
Neither is there evidence that any one of them causes more severe illness.
Currently experiencing Covid-19 infection wave Singapore is currently experiencing a Covid-19 infection wave, with the number of new infections reaching 26,072 last week, according to official statistics.
The number of new Covid-19 cases that require hospitalisation has also been steadily increasing over the past four weeks, reaching 522 last week.
However, MOH said in its Facebook post that ICU admissions remain stable and low, with less than 10 Covid-19 patients in ICU at any one time over the past month.
“We strongly advise the public to refer to credible sources of information. Please visit www.moh.gov.sg for the latest information on Covid-19,” said the ministry.