3,483 new cases in Singapore; rise in number of patients who need oxygen support

SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday (Oct 7) recorded 3,483 new cases of Covid-19, the third day in a row that the daily tally has breached the 3,000-mark.

Of these, 2,783 cases were in the community, 692 were workers' dormitory residents and the remaining eight were imported.

Among the new locally transmitted cases are 607 patients who are aged above 60, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update on the coronavirus situation.

There are 1,534 patients who are in hospital, 14 more than the day before.

Of these, 297 patients require oxygen support to help them breathe, a 16.5 per cent rise from the 255 reported the previous day.

The number of patients under intensive care is at 40, three more than on Wednesday.

“Of those who have fallen very ill, 281 are seniors above 60 years,” MOH said.

Three more deaths were also reported on Thursday, bringing the tally to 136 so far.

Singapore has logged a total of 116,864 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic last year.

MOH said that over the last 28 days, the percentage of local cases who had mild or no symptoms is 98.4 per cent.

• During the same period, 628 cases required oxygen aid and 61 had been warded in intensive care units (ICUs)

• Of these, 49.5 per cent were fully vaccinated and 50.5 per cent were not vaccinated or partially vaccinated

• Over the last 28 days, 72 infected people have died, of whom 31.9 per cent were fully vaccinated and 68.1 per cent were not vaccinated or partially vaccinated

CLUSTERS UNDER MONITORING

Among large clusters that are being closely monitored by the ministry, a total of five had new cases on Thursday. This was three fewer clusters with new cases than the day before.

Of the five clusters, three were migrant worker dormitories.

A total of 68 new infections were added to these five large clusters on Thursday.

VACCINATIONS

As of Oct 6, 83 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated, and 85 per cent has received at least one dose.

A total of 9,355,632 doses of Covid-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech or Comirnaty and Moderna) have been administered.

So far, 4,595,270 people have received at least one dose of vaccine under the national vaccination programme, and 4,532,399 individuals have completed the full vaccination regimen.

MOH added that to date, it has invited about 600,000 eligible seniors to receive their vaccine booster.

It said that 357,247 individuals have received their booster shots and another 95,000 have booked their appointments.

In addition, 207,145 doses of other vaccines such as Sinovac that are recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing have been administered, covering 109,015 individuals.