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53 new COVID cases in Singapore, 9 unlinked

People seen along Orchard Road on 24 May 2021 amid Singapore's Phase 2 (Heightened Measures) period. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
People seen along Orchard Road on 24 May, 2021, amid Singapore's Phase 2 (Heightened Measures) period. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (16 August) reported 53 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the country's total to 66,225 infections.

Of them, 48 are locally transmitted including nine unlinked cases. The ministry did not provide a breakdown of how many of them are in the community or are dormitory residents.

There are five imported cases, all of whom were detected upon their arrival here.

One new cluster was announced on Monday, while four have closed, bringing the total number of active COVID-19 clusters in Singapore to 99.

The new cluster is linked to 43 Sungei Kadut Loop dormitory, with a total of 13 cases of whom all but one are new infections.

The second largest addition of five new cases was made to the cluster at Bishan Bus Interchange staff, now linked to 15 infections. Four new cases were added to the cluster at My First Skool at 54 Chin Swee Road, now linked to 34 infections.

No new cases were added to Singapore's largest cluster at the Jurong Fishery Port, linked to 1,155 cases, as well as the second-largest cluster – linked to various KTVs – which has 253 cases.

14 cases found at Blk 695 Jurong West Central 1

In a separate press release, the ministry said that 14 COVID-19 cases have been detected in six households at Block 695 Jurong West Central 1 where transmission of the virus is likely.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing to determine linkages and the source of transmission, it added.

Mandatory COVID-19 testing will be conducted for all residents of the affected block, while testing is optional for those who have tested negative for the infection from 13 August onwards.

The MOH noted that the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 526 in the week before to 331 in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from 148 in the week before to 89 in the past week.

It added that the seven-day moving average number of all linked community cases and all unlinked community cases are 34.6 and 12.7 respectively.

32 require oxygen supplementation; 8 in ICU

At least 64,792 cases in Singapore, or over 99 per cent of the overall total, have fully recovered from their infection and have been discharged from the hospital.

As of Monday, 426 cases are currently warded, most of whom are well and under observation.

There are currently 33 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation and seven in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU) – seven among the 40 cases are fully vaccinated.

Of those who have fallen very ill, 32 are patients above the age of 60, of whom 26 are completely unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, said the MOH.

Apart from the 44 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.

Over the last 28 days, the percentage of unvaccinated who became severely ill or died is 9.8 per cent, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.2 per cent, the ministry noted.

As of Sunday, about 8.44 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme. Some 4.43 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with some 4.14 million having completed the full vaccination regimen.

Separately, 149,107 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of Sunday, covering 83,796 individuals.

This means that 76 per cent of the population have completed their full regimen, or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82 per cent have received at least one dose.

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