Covid-19: 3,590 new cases in Singapore; rise in number of infected seniors who need oxygen support
SINGAPORE — There were a record 3,590 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed on Friday (Oct 8), the fourth day in a row that the daily tally has breached the 3,000-mark.
Of these, 2,825 cases were in the community and 765 were workers' dormitory residents. There were no imported infections for the day — the first time this has happened since Aug 12.
Among the new locally transmitted cases are 619 patients who are aged above 60, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update on the coronavirus situation.
There are 1,564 patients who are in hospital, 30 more than the day before.
Of these, 307 patients require oxygen support to help them breathe, up from the 297 reported the day before.
The number of patients under intensive care is at 41, one more than on Thursday.
“Of those who have fallen very ill, 294 are seniors above 60 years,” MOH said. This is 13 more than the 281 reported on Thursday. All 13 are those who require oxygen support.
Six more deaths were also reported on Friday, bringing the tally to 142 so far.
Singapore has logged a total of 120,454 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, 659 cases required oxygen aid and 66 had been warded in intensive care units (ICUs)
Of these, 49.7 per cent were fully vaccinated and 50.3 per cent were not vaccinated or partially vaccinated
Over the last 28 days, 76 infected people have died, of whom 31.6 per cent were fully vaccinated and 68.4 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 Friday. This was the same number of clusters with new cases reported on Thursday.
Of the five clusters, two were migrant worker dormitories.
A total of 62 new infections were added to these five large clusters on Friday.
VACCINATIONS
As of Oct 7, 83 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated, and 85 per cent has received at least one dose.
A total of 9,374,827 doses of Covid-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech or Comirnaty and Moderna) have been administered.
So far, 4,597,008 people have received at least one dose of vaccine under the national vaccination programme, and 4,534,827 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 371,953 individuals have received their booster shots and another 86,000 have booked their appointments.
In addition, 208,934 doses of other vaccines such as Sinovac that are recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing have been administered, covering 110,169 individuals.
