Coronavirus: Singapore’s Covid resilience means XBB ‘not a concern’ even as cases spike during huge events like F1 race

Name: Singapore lifts indoor mask rule in most public spaces, eases quarantine for unvaccinated travellers
Uploaded: 2022-10-12T10:45:10.000Z
Duration: 1 min 10 s
Description: Singapore lifts indoor mask rule in most public spaces, eases quarantine for unvaccinated travellers

City state reported 11,732 new cases on Tuesday, at a time the new XBB variant has caused some worry in Asia over its ability to ‘evade vaccines’

Singapore officials say there’s no cause for concern yet, citing the country’s ‘resilience built up through vaccination and previous waves of infection’

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Singapore health officials are not too worried about the new XBB coronavirus variant, despite a recent spike in cases. Photo: AFP/File

Kimberly Lim

Published: 6:45pm, 12 Oct 2022Updated: 7:03pm, 12 Oct 2022

While Asian health officials are concerned over the new XBB coronavirus variant, Singapore’s recent jump in infections should not be viewed as too big a concern, infectious disease experts said on Wednesday, even as the city state hosts large-scale events as part of its reopening plan.

The Singapore health ministry also refuted online rumours the new variant has resulted in an increase in severe cases and deaths, initiating an action from its fake news law.

This comes as Hong Kong detects its first case of XBB.1 and a leading expert said that it has the “strongest ability to evade vaccines among variants at the moment”.

Dr Gilman Siu Kit-hang, associate professor of the Department of Health Technology and Informatics at Polytechnic University, said on Wednesday that it was difficult to predict if XBB would become the dominant strain in Hong Kong, with residents travelling under the newly introduced “0+3” arrangement.

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Singapore lifts indoor mask rule in most public spaces, eases quarantine for unvaccinated travellers

Meanwhile, health officials and infectious disease experts in Singapore said the XBB.1 strain is not yet a concern. With reinfection rates at around 15 per cent, Singapore’s health minister Ong Ye Kung said there could be another wave if this number reached 50 per cent.