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Most S'pore's 797 new Omicron cases local; over 5,000 aged 5 to 6 registered for jab

A child waiting his turn at the COVID-19 vaccination exercise for those aged five to 11 at  Our Tampines Hub Vaccination Centre on 12 January, 2022. (PHOTO: Ministry of Social and Family Development
A child waiting his turn at the COVID-19 vaccination exercise for those aged five to 11 at Our Tampines Hub Vaccination Centre on 12 January, 2022. (PHOTO: Ministry of Social and Family Development

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (12 January) confirmed 797 new Omicron cases, of whom over 64 per cent – or 513 – are local infections.

This comes a day after Singapore recorded its first dip in its weekly infection growth rate since 24 December last year.

The rate – the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before – further dipped from Tuesday's recorded 1.71 to 1.6 on Wednesday.

A total of 882 new COVID-19 cases, including 486 local infections, were confirmed by the MOH, bringing the country's total case count to 288,125.

One COVID-19 related death was recorded on Wednesday. A total of 839 people have succumbed to the disease.

A total of 636 cases were discharged, while 167 remain warded. Of those still hospitalised, 13 require oxygen supplementation, while 11 are in the intensive care unit (ICU).

The MOH did not provide Wednesday's overall ICU utilisation rate. Over the last 28 days, of the 7,081 infected individuals, 99 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

As of Tuesday, 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 89 per cent have received at least one dose, and 48 per cent have received their booster shots.

In a separate statement by an Early Childhood Development Agency spokesperson, more than 5,000 children aged five to six have been registered by their parents or guardians for COVID-19 vaccination as of Wednesday.

Singapore's vaccination drive for children aged five to 11 began on 27 December. The programme will be open to over 300,000 children here, who are Singaporeans, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders.

Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine is the only vaccine approved for the age group.

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