MOH debunks claims: Omicron XBB variant not more ‘toxic’ than Delta

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.

卫生部辟谣:新冠Omicron XBB变种毒性并未比Delta更严重

新加坡卫生部(MOH)发表声明,澄清Omicron XBB亚型病毒毒性并未比Delta变种更严重,也没有更高的死亡率,且目前的Covid-19检测方法可以检测到该亚型病毒。

无明显的主导病毒株 卫生部在4月19日的Facebook帖子中解释称,国际和本地数据都显示Omicron XBB亚型病毒的严重程度低于Delta变种,死亡率也没有上升。

目前的Covid-19检测方法也能检测到包括XBB株在内的感染。

卫生部还强调,在目前本地社区检测到的各种病毒株中,没有明显的主导病毒株。也没有证据表明其中任何一种会导致更严重的疾病。

新加坡正面临Covid-19感染潮 根据官方统计数据,新加坡目前正在经历Covid-19感染潮,上周新增感染病例达到26,072例。

需要住院治疗的新冠病例数量在过去四周内也持续上升,上周达到522例。

然而,卫生部在Facebook帖子中表示,ICU病房的入住人数仍保持稳定且较低,在过去一个月内,ICU病房中的Covid-19患者数量始终低于10人。

“我们强烈建议公众参考可靠的信息来源。请访问www.moh.gov.sg获取有关Covid-19的最新信息。”卫生部表示。