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All but one of 935 new COVID cases in Singapore local

Office workers spend their lunch breaks at the central business district during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore, September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Office workers spend their lunch breaks at the central business district during the coronavirus disease outbreak in Singapore on 8 September, 2021. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (17 September) confirmed 935 new coronavirus cases in Singapore, taking the country's total case count to 75,783.

Friday marks the highest daily recorded COVID-19 cases since 23 April last year, when 1,037 infections were reported.

All but one of the new 935 cases are local: 838 are in the community, while 96 are dormitory residents. Among them are 241 people above the age of 60, said the MOH.

The remaining case is imported who was detected upon their arrival in Singapore.

Twelve active COVID-19 clusters in Singapore are being closely monitored, said the MOH. Three of them are linked to staff members at bus interchanges in Toa Payoh, Tampines, and Punggol.

Of the list of monitored clusters, the highest number of 17 new cases was added to the cluster at Blue Stars dorm. The cluster now has 71 cases infected by an "intra-dormitory transmission" among residents, said the MOH, adding that all residents are being tested.

Eight new cases were added to the Chinatown Complex cluster, now totalling 256 infections, the majority of whom are stallholders and assistants.

Two new cases were also added to the cluster at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard, which now has 26 infections. Of them, 23 are staff members while three are household contacts.

Daily new cases in Singapore are expected to rise to 1,000 over the upcoming week, and 2,000 by early October, if the current rate of infection persists, said authorities here.

90 require oxygen supplementation; 14 in ICU

Over 66,600 cases in Singapore, or some 99 per cent of the overall total, have fully recovered from their infection and have been discharged from the hospital.

As of Friday, 813 cases are currently warded, most of whom are well and under observation.

There are currently 90 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation and 14 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Of those who have fallen very ill, 82 are patients above the age of 60, said the MOH.

Apart from the 59 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, the percentage of local cases who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms is 98.2 per cent. Over the same period, 153 cases required oxygen supplementation, 15 had been in the ICU, and three died, of whom none was fully vaccinated.

As of Thursday, about 8.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the national vaccination programme. Some 4.57 million have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with some 4.44 million having completed the full vaccination regimen.

Separately, 181,531 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of Thursday, covering 86,891 individuals.

This means that 82 per cent of the population have completed their full regimen, or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 84 per cent have received at least one dose.

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