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3,277 new COVID cases, 10 more deaths in Singapore

People seated in groups of 2 as mandated by Covid-19 safety restrictions are served by staff as they dine at a food centre  in Singapore on Saturday, 23 October, 2021. (Photo by Joseph Nair/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
People dine in groups of two at a food centre in Singapore on 23 October, 2021. (PHOTO: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday (26 October) confirmed 3,277 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 179,095 – as well as 10 deaths due to the disease.

Tuesday marks the 37th day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with 238 people having succumbed to it this month. It is also the eighth straight day with over 3,000 cases reported.

The 330th to 339th COVID-19 deaths in Singapore were aged between 66 and 98. All except an unvaccinated case had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 3,272 are local infections: 2,984 are in the community and 288 reside in the migrant worker dormitories. The remaining five are imported.

Among the local cases are 506 people aged above 60, said the MOH, adding that the weekly infection growth rate is 1.11.

Six active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, including one at a preschool.

Of the list of monitored clusters, the highest number of eight new cases was added to the cluster at the AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens. The cluster now has 79 cases, of whom all but one – a staff member – are residents.

Six new cases were also added to the cluster at Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village, now totalling 77 infections. Of them, all but one – a staff member – are residents.

Two new cases were added to the Maple Bear Loyang preschool, now totalling 14 infections. Of them, all but two – both staff members – are students.

One new case was also added to the cluster at NTUC Health (Jurong West) Nursing Home, now totalling 15 infections. All of them are residents.

289 require oxygen supplementation; 146 in ICU

A total of 2,856 cases were discharged on Tuesday, of whom 435 are patients aged 60 and above, said the MOH.

Currently, 1,787 cases – or 6.8 per cent – are currently warded in hospital, most of whom are well and under observation. A total of 19,013 cases – or 72.4 per cent – are undergoing home recovery, while 4,570 cases are in community care facilities, and 878 are in COVID-19 treatment facilities.

Over the last 28 days, of the 87,150 infected individuals, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

There are currently 289 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation. A total of 146 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – 79 are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration, while 67 are critically ill and intubated.

The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 79.2 per cent, said the MOH. "In view of the current ICU occupancy rates, we have triggered the next 100 ICU beds, which will be ready next week," it added.

The ministry said 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 0.8 per 100,000 population, respectively, it noted.

Among those aged 60 and above, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are 2.2 and 31.7, respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.4 and 8.1, respectively, said the MOH.

Apart from the 339 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 Monday, 10,003,952 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 4.67 million having completed the full vaccination regimen. A total of 724,762 have taken their booster shots.

Separately, 42,623 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of Monday, covering 24,130 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 13 per cent have received their booster shots.

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