1,275 new COVID cases, 3 more deaths in Singapore

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (25 November) confirmed 1,275 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore – bringing the country's total case count to 258,785 – as well as three deaths due to the disease.

Thursday marks the lowest number of daily infections since 21 September, when there were 1,178 new cases. It also marks the 67th day in a row with fatalities from COVID-19 reported in Singapore, with 265 people having succumbed to it so far this month.

The 679th to 681st fatalities here were aged between 69 and 74. All had various underlying medical conditions.

Of the new cases, 1,259 are local – 1,228 are in the community and 31 are residents of migrant worker dormitories. The remaining 16 are imported. In the community are 167 cases who are aged 60 years and above, said the MOH.

The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before – or the weekly infection growth rate – is reported to be 0.72, down from 0.75 on Wednesday. This is the 13th day in a row where the figure is lower than 1.

Three active COVID-19 clusters are being closely monitored in Singapore, all of which are nursing homes.

Of the listed clusters, the highest number of two new cases was added to a cluster at the Society for the Aged Sick. The cluster has 27 cases, of whom all but three – all staff members – are residents.

One new case was also each added to clusters at Pacific Healthcare Nursing Home at 6 Lengkok Bahru and ECON Healthcare Nursing Home's Chai Chee branch, totalling 33 and 36 infections, respectively.

206 require oxygen supplementation; 86 in ICU

A total of 3,223 cases were discharged on Thursday, of whom 481 are patients aged 60 and above, said the MOH.

Currently, 1,251 cases are warded in hospital. Over the last 28 days, of the 70,746 infected individuals, 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.

There are currently 206 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation.

A total of 86 cases are in the intensive care unit (ICU) – 31 are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration, while 55 are critically ill and intubated.

The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 56.8 per cent, up from Wednesday's 56.1 per cent.

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 4.6 per 100,000 population, respectively.

Over the same period, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who died are 0.02 and 0.6 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 1.6 and 42.5, respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.1 and 6.1, respectively, said the MOH.

Apart from the 681 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, 94 per cent of Singapore's eligible population – aged 12 and above – have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines or completed their full regimen.

Among the total population, 85 per cent have received two doses, 86 per cent have received at least one dose, and 24 per cent have received their booster shots.

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