Covid-19: Imported infections make up half of Singapore's 344 new cases
Singapore has recorded 279,405 Covid-19 cases since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.
SINGAPORE — Singapore recorded 344 new cases of Covid-19 as of noon on Friday (Dec 31), half of which — 172 — were imported infections.
There was also one fatality, taking the country's death toll from coronavirus complications to 828, based on the latest infection statistics on the Ministry of Health (MOH) website.
Friday's case count was up from the 311 infections registered on Thursday.
Among the new cases reported on Friday, 172 were locally transmitted, comprising 165 in the community and seven in migrant workers' dormitories.
Separately, MOH's website also showed that 158 new Omicron variant infections were confirmed on Friday, comprising 124 imported cases and 34 local ones.
The new daily Covid-19 cases and confirmed Omicron cases are presented as two separate sets of data on the MOH website.
The weekly infection growth rate on Friday was 0.82, up from Thursday's 0.73. This refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before. Friday's figure is the highest in more than a month since Nov 23, when it was 0.83.
The growth rate has, however, stayed below 1 since Nov 13. A figure below 1 means that the number of new weekly coronavirus cases is falling.
As of Friday, Singapore has recorded 279,405 Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.
HOSPITALISATIONS AND VACCINATIONS
The intensive care unit (ICU) utilisation rate was 46.2 per cent, down from the 49.9 per cent reported on Thursday.
There were 266 patients in hospital, with 42 needing oxygen support.
In the ICU, four patients required close monitoring, while 16 patients were critically ill.
As of Thursday, 91 per cent of Singapore's eligible population have completed their full vaccination regimen under the national vaccination programme.
This figure was updated to include children aged five to 11 after vaccination for this age group started on Monday.
About 40 per cent of the total population have received their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots. CNA
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