Coronavirus Singapore

1,453 new local cases; unvaccinated man aged 50 among 3 dead

A total of 1,457 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Singapore yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its nightly update.

Three Singaporeans have died of Covid-19 complications, taking the Republic's death toll to 68, it said.

Before this, the highest number of new Covid-19 cases recorded in Singapore stood at 1,426 cases on April 20 last year.

Of the local cases reported yesterday, 1,277 were in the community and 176 cases were among dormitory residents. The remaining four cases were imported.

The authorities have warned that Singapore would see a major wave of Covid-19 transmission as the country transitions to living with the virus.

Among the three deaths, one was a 65-year-old Singaporean man who died yesterday. He tested positive on Sept 1 and was not vaccinated against Covid-19.

He had a history of diabetes, end-stage kidney failure and high blood pressure.

Another was a 90-year-old Singaporean woman who died on Tuesday.

She tested positive on Sept 13 and was fully vaccinated.

She also had a history of stroke, asthma, high blood pressure and high cholesterol which, together with her age, made her more susceptible to severe illness, said the ministry.

A 50-year-old Singaporean man also died of Covid-19 on Tuesday.

He was not vaccinated and had no known medical conditions.

This takes the total number of deaths recorded over the past two months to 31, making it almost half of the total Covid-19-related death toll in Singapore.

New cases have also been added to existing clusters.

Twenty-two more cases were added to the cluster at Blue Stars Dormitory in Jurong West, taking the total number of cases in that cluster to 159.

Intra-dormitory transmission among residents was found, with no evidence of spread beyond the dormitory, said MOH.

The new cases have already been quarantined.

Also, 17 more cases have been added to the cluster at Avery Lodge, a dormitory in Boon Lay, taking the total number of cases in that cluster to 160.

Intra-dormitory transmission among residents occurred there with no evidence of spread beyond the dormitory, said MOH.

Cases were identified through pre-emptive testing and new cases have already been quarantined.

There are currently 1,083 Covid-19 patients in hospital, down from 1,109 the day before.

There are 145 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, down from 147 the day before. There are also 19 cases in critical condition in the intensive care unit, up from 17 on Tuesday.

Of those who have fallen very ill, 134 are seniors above 60 years old.

The total number of Covid-19 infections in Singapore now stands at 81,356.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 23, 2021, with the headline 1,453 new local cases; unvaccinated man aged 50 among 3 dead. Subscribe