MOH Detects 3 COVID-19 Cases Infected With BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron Subvariants

Two local COVID-19 cases infected with the Omicron BA.4 variant and one local case infected with the BA.5 variant have been detected in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced in a press release last Sunday, May 15.

The three cases are confirmed to be the first community cases infected with the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recently classified as variants of concern.

All three were fully vaccinated and have received their booster dose. They did not require hospitalisation and were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms such as cough, fever, runny rose, and sore throat. Upon testing positive for COVID-19, the cases had self-isolated and didn’t have related exposures to vulnerable settings.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 16 countries have reported to have at least 1,000 cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants as of May 2022.

The MOH said they’ll step up their surveillance efforts and continue to monitor the spread of the virus.