1,767 new COVID cases in Singapore, 9 more deaths

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (5 November) confirmed 1,767 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 212,745 – as well as nine deaths due to the disease.

Friday marks the first time since 27 September that the city-state recorded less than 2,000 daily new cases.

The ministry said the fall in numbers is likely due to fewer swabs being done over the Deepavali public holiday at public health preparedness clinics and polyclinics.

"We remind those who feel unwell with acute respiratory infection symptoms not to delay seeking medical attention and getting tested," added the MOH.

The 460th to 468th fatalities in Singapore were aged between 67 and 85. All of them had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 1,753 are local infections – 1,639 are in the community while 120 are dormitory residents. The remaining eight cases are imported.

Amongst the community cases are 284 cases aged 60 years and above, said the MOH adding that the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 0.81, a decrease from Thursday's 0.93.

Five active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, including three nursing or welfare homes.

Of the listed clusters, the highest number of 24 new cases was added to the cluster at the Institute of Mental Health. The cluster, the largest of the five, has 365 cases – 341 patients and 24 staff members.

Four new cases were each added to the clusters at Jamiyah Home for the Aged's Tampines branch and Orange Valley Nursing Home's Clementi branch, totalling 54 and 26 infections, respectively.

One new case was also added to the cluster at Growing Learners Student Care. The cluster has 16 cases – 12 students and four household contacts.

282 require oxygen supplementation; 140 in ICU

A total of 3,657 cases were discharged on Friday, of whom 528 are patients aged 60 and above, said the MOH.

Currently, 1,669 cases are warded in hospital. Over the last 28 days, of the 92,147 infected individuals, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

There are currently 282 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation.

A total of 140 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – 70 are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration, while 70 are critically ill and intubated. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 68.6 per cent.

The MOH noted that over the past seven days, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are at 0.5 and 4.8 per 100,000 population, respectively.

Over the same period, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who died are 0.1 and 0.9 per 100,000 population, respectively, it added.

Among those aged 60 and above, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are 1.8 and 38.3, respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 8.5, respectively, said the MOH.

Apart from the 468 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

As of Thursday, 85 per cent of the population have completed their full regimen or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85 per cent have received at least one dose and 17 per cent have received their booster shots.

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