117 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including 42 unlinked infections; 8 new clusters

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 117 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections as of noon on Saturday (Jul 31), including 42 infections with no links to previous cases.

Sixty-seven infections were linked to previous cases and had been placed on quarantine. Another eight linked infections were detected through surveillance testing.

Twenty-six cases were linked to the Jurong Fishery Port/Hong Lim Market & Food Centre cluster and one to the cluster in KTV lounges, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The Jurong Fishery Port cluster has grown to 1,027 cases and remains the largest active cluster in the country, said MOH as it updated figures in its nightly update released early on Sunday morning.

Among the new cases, seven were people above the age of 70 who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and at risk of serious illness, said MOH.

There were also three imported cases, who were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival. One infection was detected upon arrival while two developed the illness during the stay-home notice or isolation period.

In total, Singapore reported 120 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday.

SEVEN CASES IN CRITICAL CONDITION

MOH said 604 cases are currently warded in hospital, with most well and under observation. 

There are currently 33 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and seven in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU). Three among these 40 cases are fully vaccinated. 

Of these, two require oxygen supplementation while one requires ICU care as they have underlying medical conditions. 

Twenty six seniors above 60 years, of whom 24 are completely unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, have fallen very ill, added MOH. 

EIGHT NEW CLUSTERS

Eight new COVID-19 clusters have been identified. Among them, the Institution S2 Selarang Park Complex cluster has a total of six cases. 

The other seven clusters have about one to four infections each. MOH did not provide further information on these clusters. 

Two more cases were added to the Home’s Favourite cluster, taking the total number of infections to eight. 

MOH also said that the Changi General Hospital cluster has been closed as no more cases have been linked to it for the past two incubation periods. 

There are currently a total of 71 active clusters in Singapore, ranging between three and 1,027 infections. 

MOH said the overall number of new cases in the community has decreased from 1,027 cases in the week before to 868 cases in the past week. 

"We are likely to continue to see high number of cases in the coming days as we step up efforts to detect them to contain their spread in the community," said MOH.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 99 cases in the week before to 273 cases in the past week. 

READ: Mobile vaccination teams, more clinics to offer COVID-19 jabs to encourage senior uptake

​​​​​​​VACCINATION HELPS PREVENT SERIOUS DISEASE: MOH

A total of 7,504,554 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme as of Jul 30. This covers 4,299,667 individuals, said MOH.

MOH added that 3,327,272 individuals have completed the full vaccination regimen, making up 59 per cent of the population. 

In addition, 102,840 doses of Sinovac vaccines have been administered as of Jul 30, covering 73,793 individuals.

"There is continuing evidence that vaccination helps to prevent serious disease when one gets infected," said MOH.

Over the last 28 days, 49 local cases required oxygen supplementation, were admitted to ICU or died. Twenty eight are unvaccinated, 18 are partially vaccinated and three are fully vaccinated, added the Health Ministry. 

READ: Nightlife establishments that pivoted to F&B must pass inspections, implement more measures before reopening

MOBILE VACCINATION TEAMS

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday said the top priority now is to get "as many" seniors above 60 vaccinated as soon as possible because they are "the most vulnerable".

"We have earlier reported that about 200,000 of them are not vaccinated. The number has come down to slightly below 180,000 or about 177,000, so a lot more work still needs to go on," said Mr Ong, during a visit to a mobile vaccination team at Whampoa Precinct Hall on Saturday. 

MOH earlier announced that mobile vaccination teams will be deployed to more heartland locations to make it more convenient for seniors to get their COVID-19 vaccine jabs. 

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 64,981 COVID-19 cases.

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