Advertisement

3,432 new COVID cases, 15 more deaths in Singapore

People wearing face masks pass the Marina Bay Sands hotel during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Singapore October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su
People wearing face masks walk past the Marina Bay Sands hotel during the coronavirus disease in Singapore on 28 October, 2021. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (28 October) confirmed 3,432 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 187,851 – as well as 15 deaths due to the disease.

This comes a day after the ministry reported a single-day high of 5,324 cases, in what they described as an "unusual surge" within a relatively short window.

Thursday marks the 39th day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with 263 people having succumbed to it this month.

The 350th to 364th COVID-19 deaths in Singapore were aged between 62 and 98. All of them had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 3,423 are local infections: 3,171 are in the community and 252 reside in the migrant worker dormitories. The remaining nine are imported.

Among the community cases are 545 people aged above 60, said the MOH. The ministry added that the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.13.

Six active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, including those at two preschools.

Of the list of monitored clusters, the highest number of four new cases was added to the cluster at the Institute of Mental Health. The cluster now has 158 cases, consisting of 146 patients and 12 staff members.

Three new cases were added to the cluster at PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85, now totalling 12 infections. Of them, 10 are students while two are household contacts.

294 require oxygen supplementation; 136 in ICU

A total of 4,348 cases were discharged on Thursday, of whom 710 are patients aged 60 and above, said the MOH.

Currently, 1,732 cases – or 6.3 per cent – are currently warded in hospital, most of whom are well and under observation. A total of 20,202 cases – or 73.6 per cent – are undergoing home recovery, while 4,581 cases are in community care facilities, and 942 are in COVID-19 treatment facilities.

Over the last 28 days, of the 91,146 infected individuals, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

There are currently 294 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation. A total of 136 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – 75 are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration, while 61 are critically ill and intubated.

The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.8 per cent, said the MOH. On Tuesday, the ministry had said that it has triggered the next 100 ICU beds, which will be ready next week.

The MOH noted that over the past seven days, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are at 0.5 and 4.3 per 100,000 population, respectively.

Over the same period, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who died are 0.1 and 0.9 per 100,000 population, respectively, it added.

Among those aged 60 and above, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are 2.1 and 34.0, respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 8.9, respectively, said the MOH.

Apart from the 364 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

As of Wednesday, over 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines – those by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and more recently, Sinovac – have been administered under the national vaccination programme.

Some 4.73 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with some 4.68 million having completed the full vaccination regimen. A total of 760,408 have taken their booster shots.

Separately, 45,484 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of Wednesday, covering 25,079 individuals.

This means that 84 per cent of the population have completed their full regimen or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85 per cent have received at least one dose and 14 per cent have received their booster shots.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore