Covid-19: 1,004 new locally transmitted cases; clusters found at Pfizer Asia Pacific and waste-management firm

• Singapore registered 1,009 new Covid-19 cases on Sept 18
• Of these, 1,004 were locally transmitted and five were imported
• Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer Asia Pacific and waste-management company NSL OilChem were added to a list of active clusters being tracked 
• There has been an uptick in patients with serious illness and under intensive care, compared with Sept 17

SINGAPORE — Singapore on Saturday (Sept 18) recorded 1,004 new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19, with pharmaceutical company Pfizer Asia Pacific and an industrial waste-management firm added to a list of active clusters under close monitoring.

Including five imported cases, there were 1,009 new coronavirus infections reported here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update on the coronavirus situation. 

This is the highest single-day tally since April 23 last year, when there were 1,037 cases. That was during the circuit breaker, which halted almost all social and economic activities to contain the spread of Covid-19. 

In recent weeks, the national Covid-19 task force has been warning that daily infections would likely cross 1,000, with Health Minister Ong Ye Kung saying most recently on Friday that this could happen soon. 

MOH said that the cluster at Pfizer Asia Pacific, which is not involved in vaccine production, has 22 cases after seven were added. 

The cluster at NSL OilChem, an industrial waste-management company, has 27 infections after 21 were added to it. 

Meanwhile, compared with Friday, there were 15 more patients needing oxygen help to breathe and four more cases under intensive care. 

MOH said that some public hospitals here have been facing a surge in patients rushing to their emergency departments with mild symptoms of acute respiratory infections. 

“We urge those who have mild symptoms to avoid seeking treatment at the hospitals and instead consult a general practitioner at a Swab and Send Home clinic.”

Doctors at these clinics can assess their symptoms and perform Covid-19 tests to confirm their infections. 

Visiting these doctors instead of hospitals will free up hospital capacity for those who truly need hospital care, MOH added.

Of the 1,004 new locally transmitted cases, 926 were in the community and 78 were migrant workers in dormitories. Among the cases were 259 seniors above the age of 60.

Four of the five imported cases developed the infection while in isolation, and the remaining one was detected on arrival here.

In all, Singapore has recorded 76,792 coronavirus cases since the pandemic struck.

CLUSTERS UNDER CLOSE MONITORING

MOH said that it was closely monitoring 10 large clusters, two fewer than the day before.

Giving details of the new cluster at Pfizer Asia Pacific, it said that transmission took place in the workplace and there was no evidence of spread beyond the worksite.

Of the 22 cases, 20 are staff members and two are cleaners.

As for the cluster at NSL OilChem, transmission there also happened in the workplace, but there has been further spread to household contacts.

Of the 27 cases, 25 are staff members and two are household contacts.

SERIOUSLY ILL

As of Saturday, there were 863 Covid-19 cases who are hospitalised, up from 813 the day before.

“Most are well and under observation,” MOH said.

There are now 105 seriously ill patients needing oxygen support to help them breathe, 15 more than the day before.

There are 18 patients in critical condition under intensive care, four more than the day before.

Of those who have fallen very ill, 100 are seniors older than 60.

Over the last 28 days, the proportion of local cases who had no or mild symptoms is 98.1 per cent, MOH said.

In that period, 177 cases needed oxygen support and 18 were under intensive care. All four patients who died from the disease were not fully vaccinated. 

MOH on Saturday recorded Singapore’s 60th Covid-19 death after an unvaccinated 90-year-old man died from complications due to the disease.

VACCINATIONS

As of Friday, 82 per cent of the population have completed their full immunisation regimen or received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 84 per cent have received at least one dose.

A total of 8,922,035 doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme, which includes the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna jabs. These doses cover 4,571,939 persons. 

In all, 4,444,525 people have completed their full vaccination regimen.

For other vaccines recognised under the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing, such as China’s Sinovac jab, 182,716 doses have been administered, covering 86,968 persons.