2,475 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, 8 more deaths reported

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 2,475 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Monday (Oct 4), an increase in infections after two days of falling figures.

There were also eight more fatalities from complications due to the coronavirus, taking the death toll to 121.

The eight - four men and four women - were all Singaporeans and aged between 60 and 94.

Three of them were unvaccinated against COVID-19 and five were vaccinated. All of them had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 2,460 are locally transmitted infections, comprising 1,859 cases in the community and 601 dormitory residents.

Among these cases are 402 seniors above the age of 60, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update released to the media at about 11pm.

Fifteen are imported cases.

As of Monday, Singapore has reported a total of 106,318 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. 

HOSPITALISATIONS

There are 1,355 patients warded in hospital, most of whom are well and under observation, said MOH.

Among them are 226 cases of serious illness who required oxygen supplementation, and 35 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU). Of those who have fallen very ill, 221 are above the age of 60.

Over the last 28 days, the percentage of local cases who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms was 98.2 per cent.

In that period, 544 cases required oxygen supplementation and 54 had been in the ICU. Of these, 50.5 per cent were fully vaccinated and 49.5 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

ACTIVE CLUSTERS

MOH said it is “closely monitoring” eight active clusters, including Learning Vision @ Changi Airport which is newly added to the list.

Transmission at the daycare centre occurred among two staff members and 10 students, said MOH.

Five dormitories are in the list of clusters: ASPRI-Westlite Papan Dormitory, PPT Lodge 1B Dormitory and Avery Lodge, as well as Tampines Dormitory and the dormitory at 9 Defu South Street 1.

With 445 COVID-19 infections, the cluster at Avery Lodge is the largest of these. It added six new cases on Monday.

All the dormitory clusters involve intra-dormitory transmission among residents with no evidence of spread beyond the dormitory, said MOH.

The remaining two clusters that the ministry is monitoring are at MWS Christalite Methodist Home and Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, with 53 and 282 cases respectively.

VACCINATIONS

As of Sunday, 82 per cent of Singapore’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 85 per cent has received at least one dose.

More than 9.2 million doses have been administered under the national vaccination programme, including nearly 300,000 booster jabs, MOH said.

Around 201,500 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s emergency list have been administered, covering 104,100 people.

ICU BED OCCUPANCY RISES TO 53% AMID RISE IN CASES

Amid the spike in COVID-19 cases, bed occupancy in the intensive care units of public hospitals has doubled from 26 per cent to 53 per cent over the last three months, Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said in Parliament on Monday. 

The occupancy of isolation beds has also increased from 58 per cent to 86 per cent in the same period, while bed occupancy in community care facilities has more than tripled from 10 per cent to 35 per cent, he added. 

To cope with the bed crunch, hospitals have added 74 ICU beds, increasing capacity to a total of 187 beds for COVID-19 patients with severe conditions.

“More ICU beds can be opened at short notice if needed,” Dr Puthucheary said.