Breaking 5-day streak, Singapore reports 2,809 new COVID cases, 9 deaths

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (10 October) confirmed 2,809 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the country's total case count to 126,966, as well as nine more deaths due to the disease.

Sunday breaks a five-day streak of over 3,000 new daily cases reported in the city-state.

"The fall in the number of cases today is likely due to fewer swabs being done over the weekend at public health preparedness clinics and polyclinics, and is not indicative that the epidemic curve is bending," said the MOH.

Sunday also marks the 21st day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported here, with a total of 61 people here having succumbed to it thus far this month.

Singapore's 154th through 162nd fatalities were all Singaporeans: eight men and one woman aged between 70 and 88.

Among them, four had been unvaccinated against COVID-19, three had been partially vaccinated and two had been fully vaccinated. All of them had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 2,807 are local infections: 2,176 are in the community and 631 reside in the migrant worker dormitories. The remaining two are imported.

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

Four new cases were added to the cluster at the ASPRI-Westlite Papan Dormitory, totalling 237 infections.

One new case was added to the cluster at nursing home United Medicare Centre at Toa Payoh, totalling 74 infections. Of them, 13 are staff members, 60 are residents, and one household contact.

292 require oxygen supplementation; 41 in ICU

As of Sunday, 1,613 cases – or 7.8 per cent – are currently warded in hospital, most of whom are well and under observation. A total of 15,837 cases – or 76.6 per cent – are undergoing home recovery, while 2,941 cases are in community care facilities, and 350 are in COVID-19 treatment facilities.

There are currently 292 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation and 41 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Apart from the 162 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, of the 55,096 infected individuals, 98.5 per cent had no or mild symptoms, 1.2 per cent required oxygen supplementation, 0.1 per cent required ICU care, and 0.2 per cent has died.

Among those who required oxygen supplementation and ICU over the same period, 48.8 per cent were fully vaccinated and 51.2 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. Among those who have died, 29.8 per cent were fully vaccinated and 70.2 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

As of Saturday, about 9.43 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme. Some 4.6 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with some 4.54 million having completed the full vaccination regimen.

To date, about 600,000 eligible individuals have been invited to receive their booster doses – 411,447 of them have received their booster shots while another 74,000 have booked their appointments.

Separately, 212,622 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of Saturday, covering 112,381 individuals.

This means that 83 per cent of the population have completed their full regimen, or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 85 per cent have received at least one dose.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament on Monday while the government is ramping up healthcare capacity to handle up to 5,000 cases, it is already planning how to handle 10,000 infections.

Co-chair of the multi-ministry COVID-19 taskforce Lawrence Wong last Saturday said many people in Singapore will end up catching COVID-19, and there is no need to be fearful or embarrassed about it.

But the Finance Minister also said the current rise in COVID cases may not be "the last wave" in Singapore.

On Saturday, the COVID-19 multi-ministry taskforce announced that vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) will be opened for fully-vaccinated travellers from eight more countries to Singapore from 19 October: Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US.

This is in addition to the previously announced VTLs for fully-vaccinated travellers from South Korea, Brunei, and Germany.

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