SINGAPORE, Jan 6 (PTI): Doctors in Singapore say the latest wave of coronavirus infections is slowing even as some clinics are still facing higher-than-usual patient numbers. The country believes the number of cases has peaked, and doctors are wary of a possible surge in cases in the coming months.
Doctors say they see the number of cases stabilizing, down about 20% from December, Channel News Asia reported on Friday.
But clinics are already making plans to increase staffing and drug supplies in anticipation of another surge in the coming months.
For example, Healthway Medical currently sees an average of 50 to 60 patients presenting with respiratory infections each day across its 57 clinics, the report said. COVID-19 and influenza cases account for the majority.
This is about 10% higher than normal case numbers, but slightly down from the peak around Christmas.
“The peak in cases of upper respiratory infections has plateaued. The majority of people have already returned from travel,” said John Chen, director of primary care at Healthway Medical Group. Quoted from Dr.
“In fact, most of our clinics had sufficient buffers for all acute and upper respiratory tract infections to accommodate sudden spikes in patient numbers,” he said.
“We’re definitely going to see a surge towards the end of the year. And most likely during the festival season and holidays, more and more people are interacting and more travelers are coming and going, so we’re going to see some surge during that period.” is expected,” he said.
At OneCare Medical, patient volume is stabilizing across its 38 clinics. It is unlikely that the number of infected people will increase significantly again in the short term.
“We feel that ARI (acute respiratory infections) has already peaked, so the numbers should stabilize and probably slowly decline over the next few weeks, returning to normal baseline numbers,” CNA quoted Dr. Jimmy Choo, CEO of OneCare Medical. As you say.
“Of course, if the weather remains very cold and many strains of ARI pathogens continue to circulate, perhaps those numbers may still be maintained,” he said.
“As we approach Lunar New Year (February 10), we will continue to see gatherings. And of course, there are still travelers who want to travel, especially those who want to take advantage of the off-peak season,” Chu said. .
“Maybe there is still some infection going on. But of course, hopefully, we’ve already seen the peak of ARI cases and we’ll see a downward trend in the coming weeks,” he said. Stated.
“I think we need to continue to monitor the situation closely. So when it comes to medicines, we tend to stockpile more before this expected peak,” said Dr. Daniel Sun, medical director of UniHealth Clinic. CNA reported.
“If we notice an increase in the number of cases and the number of cases, we may increase staffing at the clinic to reduce waiting times for patients,” Song said. PTI GS Sky Sky
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