New Covid Strain Infections Similar To BA.5: HA Chief

The Hospital Authority (HA) says limited clinical data shows that a new Covid variant has not caused more serious infections compared to currently dominant strains.

Health officials recently said they were concerned that the BA.2.75 strain had led to a rebound in infections in Singapore.

The HA's chief executive, Tony Ko, said on Saturday that officials would keep a close eye on developments, with other variants also emerging in different parts of the world.

"From recently available data overseas, we notice that in general, the seriousness of the patients infected with the new subvariant is roughly similar to conditions of those infected with the BA.5," he told reporters.

Ko stressed that officials needed to collect more data to be sure because it's still early days for the new variant.

He said public hospitals were prepared to handle more patients over the winter, when the expected surge for seasonal flu may coincide with a rebound in Covid infections.

Preparations include bringing back more designated Covid clinics and remote consultations by video link. Public hospital capacity will also be increased and more patients sent to private hospitals.

Meanwhile, innovation and technology minister Sun Dong has said the government has no plans to shelve the LeaveHomeSafe app.

Medical experts such as the government's pandemic advisor, David Hui, have been calling for its scrapping. They say officials no longer track regular cases, and if they need to do so, the vaccine pass can do the job.

Sun, however, said both must be used together to fight the pandemic effectively.

"So far, LeaveHomeSafe with the red, amber code system has a very important role in fighting against the pandemic with precision," he told reporters.