MOH announces new report format; will no longer provide number of linked, unlinked COVID-19 cases

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will no longer report the number of linked and unlinked new coronavirus cases as part of a revamp of its daily COVID-19 press releases. 

MOH said in a statement accompanying its daily press release on Wednesday (Sep 8) night that it had revamped its daily COVID-19 reports to reflect "salient issues" as Singapore enters a "very different stage of our battle against COVID-19”.

"We will ... no longer provide information on the number of linked/unlinked cases as this is no longer as relevant as before, given our current strategy of living with COVID-19," said MOH. 

It added: “Today, we are one of most highly vaccinated countries in the world, with 81 per cent of our population having fully completed their vaccinations. 

“With a high vaccination rate, we have adjusted our measures to transit to a COVID-19 resilient nation."

The ministry added it is closely tracking the number of cases hospitalised with severe illness, and in the intensive care unit, to ensure "hospital capacity is not overwhelmed".

"We are also providing more information on large emerging clusters, so that the public can avoid certain places, or regulate their own activities," it said. 

From Thursday, MOH will move to one daily update on the COVID-19 situation in Singapore, from twice a day currently.

On Friday, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had said it was "timely" for MOH to revamp its daily COVID-19 reports.

"(We) are not chasing down every single case, which means unlinked numbers are also not as relevant as before," said Mr Ong during a press conference by the COVID-19 multi-ministerial task force.