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S'pore's COVID growth rate rises to 2.17; 95% of 1,001 more Omicron cases local

Staff Writer
·Editorial team
·2-min read
People cross a road, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Singapore November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Caroline Chia
People cross a road amidst the coronavirus disease pandemic in Singapore on 3 November, 2021. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — Singapore's weekly COVID-19 infection growth rate on Thursday (20 January) rose to 2.17, the highest since 16 September last year's 2.25.

It is also the first time the rate – or ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before – surpassed two since 19 September. The rate was 1.96 on Wednesday.

A figure of over one means that the number of new weekly cases is on the rise.

The rate reached a peak of 3.01 on 30 August last year, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

(CHART: MOH)
(CHART: MOH)

The ministry also confirmed 1,472 new COVID cases, down from 1,615 a day before. It is the fourth day in a row that authorities reported over 1,000 new daily cases.

Of them, some 77 per cent – or 1,133 – are local while 339 are imported. A total of 312 cases across the board are aged 11 and below. The country's total case count now stands at 297,549.

Of the 1,001 more Omicron cases confirmed among past reported infections, some 95 per cent – or 952 – are local while 49 are imported.

One COVID-19 related death was reported on Thursday, bringing the total number of people who have succumbed to the disease here to 845.

A total of 966 cases were discharged, while 306 remain warded. Of those still hospitalised, 16 require oxygen supplementation, while 14 are in the intensive care unit (ICU).

The MOH did not provide Thursday's overall ICU utilisation rate. Over the last 28 days, of the 11,183 infected individuals, 99.3 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

As of Wednesday, 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, 88 per cent have done so, while 90 per cent have received at least one dose, and 54 per cent have received their booster shots.

As of last Saturday, more than 100,000 children aged five to 11 have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Singapore authorities from Monday have begun progressively administering second vaccine doses to children. Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine is the only vaccine approved for the age group.

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