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2-month low of 1,090 new COVID cases in Singapore; 3 deaths

Two men wearing protective mask prepare to fly a drone at Marina Bay on October 24, 2021 in Singapore.  (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Two men wearing protective masks prepare to fly a drone at Marina Bay on 24 October, 2021 in Singapore. (PHOTO: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (26 November) confirmed 1,090 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 259,875 – as well as three deaths due to the disease.

Friday marks the lowest number of daily infections since 20 September, when there were 917 new cases. It is also the second day in a row to record less than 2,000 new cases.

It also marks the 68th day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with 268 people having succumbed to it so far this month.

The 682nd to 684th fatalities here were aged between 69 and 83. All had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 1,086 are local – 1,064 are in the community and 22 are residents of migrant worker dormitories. The remaining four are imported. In the community are 185 cases who are aged 60 years and above, said the MOH.

The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before – or the weekly infection growth rate – is reported to be 0.74, up from 0.72 on Thursday. This is the 14th day in a row where the figure is lower than 1.

Five active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, the majority of which are nursing homes.

Of the listed clusters, the highest number of eight new cases was added to a cluster at the Jenaris Home @ Pelangi Village. The cluster, the biggest of the five listed on Friday, has 104 cases, of whom all but two – both staff members – are residents.

One new case was also each added to clusters at the Society for the Aged Sick, Pacific Healthcare Nursing Home at 6 Lengkok Bahru, ECON Healthcare Nursing Home's Chai Chee branch, and Sunlove Senior Care Centre @ 70 Buangkok View, totalling 28, 34, 37, and 25 infections, respectively.

214 require oxygen supplementation; 85 in ICU

A total of 2,233 cases were discharged on Friday, of whom 301 are patients aged 60 and above, said the MOH.

Currently, 1,233 cases are warded in hospital. Over the last 28 days, of the 67,589 infected individuals, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

There are currently 214 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation.

A total of 85 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – 33 are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration, while 52 are critically ill and intubated.

The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 54.2 per cent, down from Thursday's 56.8 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 4.5 per 100,000 population, respectively.

Over the same period, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who died are 0.02 and 0.5 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 1.6 and 41.8, respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.1 and 5.5, respectively, said the MOH.

Apart from the 684 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, 94 per cent of Singapore's eligible population – aged 12 and above – have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines or completed their full regimen.

Among the total population, 85 per cent have received two doses, 86 per cent have received at least one dose, and 24 per cent have received their booster shots.

Authorities on Friday announced that Singapore will extend its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme to six more countries in December: Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Turkey. This brings the total number of such arrangements to 27.

They also announced the tightening of border measures on seven African countries, following recent reports of a new COVID-19 variant, or B.1.1.529, circulating in the countries. Singapore currently has no cases of the heavily mutant variant.

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