18 more deaths added to Singapore’s official Covid-19 tally after revision by MOH

SINGAPORE — Eighteen more deaths have been added to Singapore’s tally of Covid-19 fatalities last year after a revision by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

MOH said on Monday (Aug 1) that the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in 2021 has been revised from 803 to 821. The adjustment follows an “annual reconciliation exercise” after the Registry of Births and Deaths finalised its report for last year, said MOH.  

“Doctors are required to notify MOH of Covid-19 deaths as soon as possible. Based on the doctors’ submissions, MOH publishes the number of Covid-19 deaths on our website every day,” said the Health Ministry.

Under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021, doctors are also required to report information on the cause of death to the Registry of Births and Deaths.

The report on Registration of Births and Deaths for the preceding year is finalised and publicised every June.

Overall, 18 deaths were added to the Health Ministry’s official Covid-19 death count for 2021 following the reconciliation exercise. This represents a 2.2 per cent increase from the previous count.

There is no difference in the number of Covid-19 deaths for 2020, said MOH.

The following are the adjustments to the recorded number of deaths following the reconciliation exercise between MOH records and the Registry’s Report:

Eight deaths were not reported to MOH but were reported to the Registry. MOH said that it will remind doctors to report all Covid-19 deaths to the ministry.

Eleven deaths were reported to MOH, but Covid-19 infection was not indicated as the underlying cause of death in these notifications, as doctors report the cause of death based on available medical information at the point of reporting. These deaths were subsequently reported to the Registry with Covid-19 as the cause of death after further review by the doctors.

One death was in the MOH Covid-19 count for 2021, and in the Registry’s count for 2022. This was due to differences in the date of reporting to MOH and the Registry because the death occurred on Dec 31, 2021. MOH said it will include the case in the 2022 count instead of the 2021 count.

MOH added that five deaths from the report on Registration of Births and Deaths were individuals diagnosed with Covid-19 while overseas, and who died after returning to Singapore.

“These deaths will not be included as MOH’s count only includes deaths from Covid-19 diagnosed in Singapore,” said the Health Ministry.

“We expect to make annual adjustments to the Covid-19 death count in July, following the publication of the report on Registration of Births and Deaths.”

As of noon on Monday, Singapore has reported a total of 1,718,765 cases of Covid-19 with 1,520 fatalities. CNA