84-year-old man dies from COVID-19 complications; 45 new locally transmitted cases in Singapore

SINGAPORE: An 84-year-old Singaporean man died on Friday (Aug 13) from complications due to COVID-19, the seventh death from the coronavirus this month. 

The man, identified as Case 66875, was not vaccinated against COVID-19. He had a history of cancer, ischaemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.

He developed symptoms on Jul 28 and was admitted the next day to National University Hospital, where he tested positive for COVID-19, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). 

In total, 44 people in Singapore have died from COVID-19 complications.

45 LOCALLY TRANSMITTED CASES

Singapore reported 45 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections as of noon on Friday, including 13 with no links to previous cases.

This is the lowest daily number of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases reported in Singapore since Jul 15. 

Twenty of the new infections reported on Friday were linked to previous cases and had been placed on quarantine. Another 12 linked infections were detected through surveillance testing, said MOH.

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

There were also four imported cases who were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. Two infections were detected upon arrival, while two developed the illness during the stay-home notice or isolation period.

In total, Singapore reported 49 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.

MY FIRST SKOOL CLUSTER GROWS

Five more COVID-19 cases were linked to the My First Skool cluster on Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the cluster to 11. 

In a media statement on Friday evening before MOH's update, NTUC First Campus said six children and one staff member at My First Skool at 54 Chin Swee Road have tested positive for COVID-19. 

They were last present at the centre between Aug 5 and Aug 11. Contact tracing by MOH is ongoing, said the statement.

Close contacts will be placed on quarantine orders, and a leave of absence will be issued to all children and staff members who were present when the confirmed cases attended the pre-school.

All staff members and children will be tested for COVID-19 and deep cleaning has been conducted at the centre. The centre will resume operations on Aug 25 "barring any further developments".

Three new COVID-19 clusters were reported by MOH on Friday. The Health Ministry did not provide details on the new clusters.

One more case was added to the Superland Pre-school cluster, bringing the total number of infections in the cluster to 11. 

Six clusters were closed. There were 116 active clusters in Singapore as of Friday. 

10 IN CRITICAL CONDITION

A total of 488 cases were warded in hospital. There were 10 cases in critical condition in the intensive care unit and 30 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation.

Of these 40 cases, seven were fully vaccinated. Of those who have fallen very ill, 34 people were above the age of 60, of whom 27 were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, said MOH.

"There is continuing evidence that almost all fully-vaccinated individuals do not suffer serious disease when infected, unless if they had underlying medical conditions that made them more susceptible," the Health Ministry added. 

Over the last 28 days, the percentage of unvaccinated who became severely ill or died is 9.6 per cent, while that for the fully vaccinated was 1 per cent.

74 PER CENT OF POPULATION FULLY VACCINATED

More than 8.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme, with more than 4 million people having completed the full vaccination regimen as of Thursday. 

In addition, 142,996 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing have been administered as of Thursday, covering 82,951 people.

In total, 74 per cent of Singapore's population has completed the full regimen or received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, while about 81 per cent has received at least one dose.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 671 cases in the week before to 380 cases in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from 191 cases in the week before to 108 cases in the past week.

MEASURES AT PASIR PANJANG WHOLESALE CENTRE

In response to CNA's queries, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said it has been reviewing safe management measures at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre.

People authorised to enter the centre will have to undergo on-arrival testing before entry. 

"It will be gradually introduced as they transition to a 14-day rostered routine testing regime," said SFA. 

Those who have tested negative in the last 14 days will not have to undergo on-arrival testing. People who do not undergo the test or do not have negative test results will not be allowed to enter the wholesale centre.

A trial for on-site testing began on Friday morning, and adjustments will be made as the testing is implemented, added the agency.

"The review is an ongoing process, and SFA will be working with the trade association to refine the enhanced measures," said SFA.

As of Friday, Singapore has reported a total of 66,061 COVID-19 cases.