Singapore reports 15,851 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 15,851 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Tuesday (Mar 15), comprising 15,686 local cases and 165 imported infections.

This is the seventh consecutive Tuesday that case numbers have gone up from the day before. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had previously referred to such a pattern, writing on Facebook in October 2021 that numbers would "always spike after the weekends".

There were six fatalities reported on Tuesday, taking the death toll from coronavirus complications to 1,159.

There are 1,311 patients in hospital, according to the latest infection statistics on the Ministry of Health's (MOH) website. A total of 191 patients require oxygen supplementation.

Forty patients are in the intensive care unit, compared to 37 on Monday. 

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 new cases reported on Tuesday, 13,916 are classified under Protocol 2, comprising 13,786 local cases and 130 imported infections.

Another 1,935 cases were confirmed via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with 35 of them being imported infections. 

The weekly infection growth rate was 0.80, lower than the 0.84 on Monday. A number below 1 indicates that the number of new weekly COVID-19 cases is falling.

Singapore has recorded 964,329 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.

As of Monday, 95 per cent of Singapore's eligible population have completed their full vaccination regimen under the national vaccination programme.

About 70 per cent of the total population have received their vaccine booster shots.

Streamlined COVID-19 measures took effect on Tuesday, covering areas such as safe distancing, the number of household visitors allowed and event capacity limits. 

The streamlining of measures is "to make things simpler to understand and remember, so that everyone can better do their part", MOH said.

"It also prepares us for further easing of measures and the safe resumption of normal activities, when conditions are right and the healthcare workload has eased, which we expect in the coming weeks," the Health Ministry added.