51 new Covid-19 cases in ICU in past 2 weeks, with two-thirds unvaccinated or partially vaccinated

Local data also suggested the risk of unvaccinated people getting a severe infection is 14 times higher than that of vaccinated people. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Over the last two weeks, 51 new Covid-19 cases have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in hospitals.

Two-thirds of them are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, said Singapore's director of medical services Kenneth Mak on Saturday (Oct 9).

Speaking at the press conference by the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 here, Associate Professor Mak said that while about one in three ICU patients have been fully vaccinated, they have concurrent medical conditions, which increased their risk of developing a severe infection and a bad outcome.

He noted there are two unvaccinated patients in the ICU who are below 50 with these high-risk factors.

Local data also suggested the risk of unvaccinated people getting a severe infection is 14 times higher than that of vaccinated people, said Prof Mak as he urged those who are "still on the fence" to get vaccinated.

Currently, 77,000 seniors still remain unvaccinated.

"We presently have over 180 ICU beds dedicated for Covid-19 patients, and we are prepared to expand the hospitals' ICU bed capacity further by adding an additional 100 beds if needed over the next few weeks," he added.

However, Prof Mak pointed out that healthcare workers have been stretched, as they need to look after not only those directly admitted to the ICU for Covid-19 but also other critically ill patients in the ICU.

These include patients with heart attack, stroke and other medical emergencies that may require the same amount of "vigilant monitoring" as those with severe Covid-19 infection.

Some Covid-19 patients on oxygen supplementation who may require additional help, such as mechanical ventilation, may be pre-emptively admitted into the ICU for close monitoring in case they deteriorate, he added.

"(This would ensure that) they are in the best setting for us then to resuscitate and provide them with the treatment they require," said Prof Mak.

Therefore, the 41 Covid-19 cases in the ICU as at Friday are "only a subset" of the number of ICU patients that healthcare workers have to look after, he added.

"Help our healthcare workers to help you by reducing the unnecessary work for them. Most people with Covid-19 infection are well and will remain well. They should keep themselves away from others in the same household and stay at home to recover," he said.

"And if they are unable to do so safely, (they) have the option of recovering in our community isolation facilities."

Currently, about 75 per cent of all Covid-19 cases are recovering at home or in community isolation facilities, Prof Mak added.

As at Friday, more than 4,500 people with Covid-19 had been successfully enrolled into the home recovery programme, and more continue to be enrolled into the onboarding process.

Over 1,000 people have recovered from their infection and have been discharged from the home recovery programme.

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