Data on Restructured Hospitals Activating Additional Wards to Contain COVID-19 Patients in Last Three Months

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Health in the last three months (a) how many days did each restructured hospital have to open or activate additional spill-over wards beyond the standard isolation wards to contain patients with COVID-19; and (b) how many patients in total were admitted to these spill-over or contingency wards.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: In normal, pre-COVID-19 times, we maintain about 460 isolation beds across our public hospitals. In the last three months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public hospitals operated between about 960 and 1,680 isolation beds to care for COVID-19 patients. Public hospitals also had to activate surge capacity beyond normal ward capacity. As the Member would appreciate, during a pandemic crisis where emergency responses are the order of the day, such plans have to be very regularly activated.