Singapore recommends people maintain COVID-19 booster shots. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Singapore – Singapore's latest spike in COVID-19 cases may be starting to peak but the public needs to stay up to date on vaccinations, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on December 21.

The country reported 56,043 COVID-19 cases in the week of December 3 to 9, marking a 75% surge compared to the week before. The previous high recorded was 28,410 infections in the week to March 26.

A new COVID strain, the JN.1 variant, which has been classified as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organisation (WHO), accounts for the "vast majority" of the country's latest wave of infections.

In addition to vaccination and booster shots, the country's "primary defense" against COVID-19, the health ministry has also urged the public to wear masks in crowded spaces even if they are not sick, particularly in the airport and other indoor settings.

The minister maintained that the number of hospitalisations remain a key metric to watch. The average daily COVID-19 hospitalisations rose to 350 from 225.

Singapore exited the acute phase of COVID-19 in February and entered the endemic norm. The island-nation subsequently scrapped mandatory mask-wearing on public transport and indoor health-care settings, amongst other community measures such as working from home protocols and limits on group sizes.