Non-urgent surgeries deferred after surge in virus cases

The health Ministry said it has asked hospitals to defer nonurgent surgeries and admissions until further notice in a bid to increase potential capacity for handling Covid-19 patients.

The capacity measures, which also include limiting emergency room visits only for life-threatening or other emergency conditions, and encouraging teleconsultations instead of in-person medical visits where possible, come amid a flareup of cases in a country that has been one of the world’s most successful in containing the virus.

The ministry added that no hospital is denying medical care to patients who need it, and described some of the measures it was taking as “precautionary”.

The city-state saw its first fatality due to Covid-19 in nearly two months over the weekend.

An 88-year-old Singaporean woman with a history of cancer and cardiac failure passed away on Saturday after she was treated at Tan Tock Seng hospital, where a cluster of about three dozen cases has been identified since last week.

The cluster is Singapore’s first in a hospital and raises concern that the city’s hard-won success is slipping, potentially threatening efforts to open up a long-awaited travel bubble with hong Kong and host major upcoming summits, including the World economic Forum and Shangri-la Dialogue.

“There will be many more cases in the hospital as patients there are more susceptible given many hadn’t been vaccinated and were already sick with other illnesses,” said Leong hoe Nam, an infectious disease physician at Singapore’s Mount elizabeth hospital.

“Unfortunately, they are easy targets for a Covid-19 super spreader, and in turn patients who have been infected can be new super spreaders.”