Singapore reports 20,312 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 20,312 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Wednesday (Feb 23), comprising 20,152  local and 160 imported infections.

There were seven fatalities, taking the death toll from coronavirus complications to 963.

There are 1,587 patients in hospital, according to the latest infection statistics on the Ministry of Health (MOH) website. A total of 200 patients required oxygen supplementation.

Forty-six patients are in the intensive care unit, the same as on Tuesday. 

Most of Singapore's new COVID-19 infections are Protocol 2 cases, which are those who are well or assessed to have a mild condition.

Among the cases reported on Wednesday, 17,322 are classified under Protocol 2, comprising 17,267 local cases and 55 imported ones.

Another 2,990 cases were confirmed via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with 105 of them being imported infections. 

The weekly infection growth rate is 1.49, down from 1.57 on Tuesday.

Singapore has recorded 642,605 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.

As of Tuesday, 94 per cent of Singapore's eligible population have completed their full vaccination regimen under the national vaccination programme.

About 66 per cent of the total population have received their vaccine booster shots.