41-year-old among 14 COVID deaths, 3,637 new cases in S'pore

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (22 October) confirmed 3,637 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 165,663 – as well as 14 deaths due to the disease.

Friday marks the 33rd day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with a total of 193 people here having succumbed to it thus far this month. It is also the fourth straight day with over 3,000 cases reported.

The 281st to 294th COVID-19 deaths in Singapore were all Singaporeans: seven men and seven women aged between 41 and 97.

The 41-year-old individual, whose gender was not revealed, had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but was immunocompromised and had severe underlying lung disease.

Of the remaining 13 fatalities, aged between 59 and 97, seven had been unvaccinated, one had been partially vaccinated while five had been fully vaccinated. All of them had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 3,631 are local infections: 3,039 are in the community and 592 reside in the migrant worker dormitories. The remaining six are imported.

Among the local cases are 528 people aged above 60, said the MOH.

Five active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, including four at senior residential or welfare homes.

Of the list of monitored clusters, the highest number of 22 new cases was added to the cluster at the AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens. The cluster now has 44 cases, of whom all are residents.

Twenty new cases were also added to the cluster at the Bukit Batok Home for the Aged, now totalling 129 infections. Of them, all but four – all staff members – are residents.

338 require oxygen supplementation; 57 in ICU

As of Friday, 1,609 cases – or 6.5 per cent – are currently warded in hospital, most of whom are well and under observation. A total of 17,766 cases – or 71.2 per cent – are undergoing home recovery, while 4,645 cases are in community care facilities, and 921 are in COVID-19 treatment facilities.

There are currently 338 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation and 57 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Apart from the 294 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.

Over the last 28 days, of the 80,970 infected cases, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms, 1.0 per cent required oxygen supplementation, 0.1 per cent required ICU care, and 0.2 per cent has died.

Among those who required oxygen supplementation and ICU over the last 28 days, 46.7 per cent were fully vaccinated and 53.3 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. Among those who have died over the same period, 30.7 per cent were fully vaccinated and 69.3 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

As of Thursday, about 9.72 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme. Some 4.63 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with some 4.57 million having completed the full vaccination regimen.

To date, about 910,000 eligible individuals have been invited to receive their booster doses – 655,029 of them have received their booster shots while another 96,000 have booked their appointments.

Separately, 234,168 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of Thursday, covering 120,594 individuals.

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

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