SINGAPORE: Singapore will ease its approach to managing COVID-19 cases infected with the Omicron variant from Monday (Dec 27).
Instead of being isolated in dedicated facilities by default, Omicron cases will be placed on home recovery or treated at community care facilities depending on their clinical presentation, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) late on Sunday night.
"International evidence indicates that the Omicron variant is likely to be more transmissible but less severe than the Delta variant, and that vaccines, especially boosters, retain substantial protection against hospitalisations caused by Omicron," said MOH.
"In the last week, we had several unlinked Omicron cases as well as clusters in the community. This was not unexpected given the high transmissibility of the variant."
Based on the authorities' "updated understanding", Omicron cases will be allowed to follow Protocols 1-2-3 as with other COVID-19 cases, said MOH.
Close contacts of Omicron cases will be issued a 7-day health risk warning (HRW) instead of being quarantined for 10 days, and those currently in quarantine will be progressively discharged over the next few days.
"The adjustments in our approach for managing local Omicron cases will allow us to focus our healthcare resources on severe cases and protecting the vulnerable settings," said MOH.
"It also allows us to go back to having a single streamlined approach to manage COVID-19, regardless of COVID-19 viral strains, which will facilitate operations on the ground and compliance to the protocols."
As of Saturday, Singapore has detected 546 confirmed Omicron cases comprising 443 imported cases and 103 local cases, said MOH.
In the last week, there were 13 unlinked community Omicron cases and 78 Omicron cases from local linked community transmission.
The ministry said available data thus far suggests that Omicron infections face reduced risks of hospitalisation and severe disease compared to Delta infections.
"Locally, our Omicron cases have so far not been severe as well – none has required intensive care or oxygen supplementation, although this may be partially due to most cases being fully vaccinated and from younger age groups," it added.
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Instead of being isolated in dedicated facilities by default, Omicron cases will be placed on home recovery or treated at community care facilities depending on their clinical presentation, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) late on Sunday night.
"International evidence indicates that the Omicron variant is likely to be more transmissible but less severe than the Delta variant, and that vaccines, especially boosters, retain substantial protection against hospitalisations caused by Omicron," said MOH.
"In the last week, we had several unlinked Omicron cases as well as clusters in the community. This was not unexpected given the high transmissibility of the variant."
Based on the authorities' "updated understanding", Omicron cases will be allowed to follow Protocols 1-2-3 as with other COVID-19 cases, said MOH.
Close contacts of Omicron cases will be issued a 7-day health risk warning (HRW) instead of being quarantined for 10 days, and those currently in quarantine will be progressively discharged over the next few days.
"The adjustments in our approach for managing local Omicron cases will allow us to focus our healthcare resources on severe cases and protecting the vulnerable settings," said MOH.
"It also allows us to go back to having a single streamlined approach to manage COVID-19, regardless of COVID-19 viral strains, which will facilitate operations on the ground and compliance to the protocols."
As of Saturday, Singapore has detected 546 confirmed Omicron cases comprising 443 imported cases and 103 local cases, said MOH.
In the last week, there were 13 unlinked community Omicron cases and 78 Omicron cases from local linked community transmission.
The ministry said available data thus far suggests that Omicron infections face reduced risks of hospitalisation and severe disease compared to Delta infections.
"Locally, our Omicron cases have so far not been severe as well – none has required intensive care or oxygen supplementation, although this may be partially due to most cases being fully vaccinated and from younger age groups," it added.
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