Singapore's health ministry reported a record 26,032 COVID-19 infections on February 22, saying it may take a few weeks before the current transmission wave peaks and subsides.

People wearing face masks cross the road at Pickering Street in Singapore on September, 2021. (File photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

While the number of patients needing oxygen supplementation and intensive care unit (ICU) care is not high, there is a surge in demand for hospital beds, mostly for patients with underlying chronic illnesses to recover, the health ministry said.

It suggested that people with mild or no symptoms who had tested positive should consider self-recovery at home to reduce the pressure on healthcare workers.

Of the nearly 294,000 cases over the last 28 days, 99.7 percent had mild or no symptoms.

About 91 percent of Singapore's 5.5 million population have been fully vaccinated, with a further 66 percent receiving a booster jab.

Meanwhile, the Metro Manila mayors of the Philippines have unanimously agreed to ease further the pandemic alert level in the capital region to 1 on a scale of 5 starting March 1 as COVID-19 cases dip, the Metro Manila Council said.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority officer-in-charge Don Artes said the 17 mayors will discuss on February 24 the proposed new restrictions with the inter-agency coronavirus task force which will decide whether to implement the lowest pandemic restrictions that allow more businesses in the capital region to reopen.

Source: VNA