2,038 new COVID cases, 6 deaths in Singapore as ICU utilisation rate dips to 58.8%

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (18 November) confirmed 2,038 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 246,853 – as well as six deaths due to the disease.

Thursday comes a day after Singapore recorded 3,474 new cases. It also marks the 60th day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with 209 people having succumbed to it so far this month.

The 620th to 625th fatalities here were aged between 57 and 84. All had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 2,031 are local – 1,964 are in the community and 67 are residents of migrant worker dormitories. The remaining seven are imported. In the community are 294 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 0.9, up from Wednesday's 0.89. This is the sixth day in a row where the figure is lower than 1.

The rate was 1.04 last Friday, breaking a nine-day streak of recording a figure lower than 1.

Three active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, said the MOH.

Of the listed clusters, the highest number of six new cases was added to a cluster at Jenaris Home @ Pelangi Village. The cluster has 70 cases, all but two – both staff members – are residents.

226 require oxygen supplementation; 113 in ICU

A total of 3,772 cases were discharged on Thursday, of whom 528 are patients aged 60 and above, said the MOH.

Currently, 1,435 cases are warded in hospital. Over the last 28 days, of the 84,654 infected individuals, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

There are currently 226 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation.

A total of 113 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – 53 are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration, while 60 are critically ill and intubated.

The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 58.8 per cent, down from Wednesday's 62.6 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 0.6 and 5 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 2 and 44, respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.2 and 9.1, respectively, said the MOH.

Apart from the 625 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 Wednesday, 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 22 per cent have received their booster shots.

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