502 of 842 new COVID cases in Singapore are imported, 3 deaths
SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday (4 January) confirmed 842 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the country's total case count to 281,596.
The weekly infection growth rate also rose to above 1 for the first time since 12 November 2021. The rate, or the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before, is now at 1.09, and has been climbing since a low of 0.52 on 24 December 2021.
There were also three more deaths due to the disease, with total fatalities at 832 as of Tuesday.
Of the new cases, 334 are in the community, six are residents of migrant worker dormitories, and the remaining 502 are imported.
Omicron cases
A total of 438 new Omicron cases were confirmed on Tuesday, of whom 91 are local and 347 are imported.
On Monday, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said Singapore has to prepare itself for an “imminent” Omicron wave, with the COVID variant accounting for 17 per cent of local cases then. He stressed that vaccination and boosters remain the key response to fight the pandemic.
A total of 271 cases were discharged on Tuesday, while 181 remain warded. Over the last 28 days, of the 8,069 infected individuals, 98.8 per cent had no or mild symptoms.
There are currently 21 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation.
A total of 16 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – three are under close monitoring, while 13 are critically ill.
The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 43.8 per cent.
As of Monday, the total number of individuals who have completed their full regimen or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines is 91 per cent of the eligible population.
Among the total population, 87 per cent have done so, while 88 per cent have received at least one dose, and 42 per cent have received their booster shots.
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