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47-year-old among 8 COVID deaths in Singapore, 1,239 new cases

People sit on a chair marked out to keep social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic on November 27, 2021 in Singapore. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
People sit on a chair marked out to keep social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic on 27 November, 2021 in Singapore. (PHOTO: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday (30 November) confirmed 1,239 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 264,725 – as well as eight deaths due to the disease.

Tuesday's case figures come two days after Singapore reported 747 infections, the first time the city-state reported less than 1,000 cases since 20 September.

It also marks the 72nd day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with 302 people having succumbed to it so far this month.

The 711th to 718th fatalities here were aged between 47 and 87. All had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 1,217 are local – 1,193 are in the community and 24 are residents of migrant worker dormitories. The remaining 22 are imported. In the community are 179 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 0.66, down from a two-day rate of 0.69. This is the 18th day in a row where the figure is lower than 1.

Two active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, both of which are nursing homes.

One new case was each added to the clusters at LC Nursing Home in Siglap and at ECON Healthcare Nursing Home's Chai Chee branch, totalling 16 and 42 infections, respectively.

Of the total cases across both clusters, all but three – who are staff members – are residents.

216 require oxygen supplementation; 78 in ICU

A total of 1,399 cases were discharged on Tuesday, of whom 276 are patients aged 60 and above, said the MOH.

Currently, 1,113 cases are warded in hospital. Over the last 28 days, of the 60,166 infected individuals, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

There are currently 216 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation.

A total of 78 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – 13 are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration, while 65 are critically ill and intubated.

The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 58.5 per cent, up from Monday's 51.2 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 4.3 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 0.4 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 39.5, respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.2 and 4.5, respectively, said the MOH.

Apart from the 718 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.

The MOH said with its completion of a periodic update of Singapore's population numbers – which has decreased slightly – vaccinated coverage in the city-state has been adjusted accordingly.

The decrease is due to deaths in Singapore or returnees to their home countries outnumbering newborns and inflows here.

As of Monday, the total number of individuals who have completed their full regimen or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines is 96 per cent – adjusted from 94 per cent – of the eligible population.

Among the total population, 86 per cent – adjusted from 85 per cent – have done so, while 87 per cent has received at least one dose, and 26 per cent has received their booster shots.

With the adjustment of Singapore's population base, the number of unvaccinated people aged 60 years and above has dropped from 57,769 to 43,611.

"This is because the estimated total number of persons in that age group has been reduced. After subtracting the number who has been fully vaccinated, the remainder is a significantly smaller number than the previous estimate," said the MOH.

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