1,650 new cases; 3 elderly men die

A total of 1,650 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Singapore yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update.

Three seniors with a host of health problems - of whom two were vaccinated - have died of Covid-19 complications, taking the death toll here to 73.

The latest daily total is the highest since the pandemic began, up from the previous record of 1,504 cases reported on Thursday.

Yesterday was the fourth day in a row that the number of cases has surpassed 1,000.

Of the local cases, 1,369 were in the community and 277 cases were among dormitory resi-dents, said MOH. Of these, 391 are seniors above 60 years old. The remaining four cases were imported.

The three who died yesterday were Singaporean men.

The first, a 83-year-old man who was vaccinated, had a history of diabetes, restrictive lung disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The second man, who was also vaccinated, was aged 86. He had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischaemic heart disease, bronchiectasis and high blood pressure.

Both men were of advanced age, which made them more susceptible to severe illness, MOH added.

The last, a 79-year-old man, was not vaccinated and had a history of pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Graves' disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Graves' disease is an illness affecting the immune system.

The number of Covid-19-related deaths this month so far stands at 18 - which was the total tally for last month.

Another 95 children under 12 have been infected with Covid-19, MOH said yesterday. Since Sept 17, there have been 582 Covid-19 new cases involving this age group.

The total tally of Covid-19 infections in Singapore now stands at 84,510. There are now 1,092 Covid-19 patients hospitalised, down from 1,120 the day before.

There are 162 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, down from 163 the day before.

There are 23 patients in critical condition in the intensive care unit, the same as Thursday. Of the patients who have fallen very ill, 151 are seniors above the age of 60.

Singapore can expect to hit 3,200 new cases daily by next week if the current trend continues.

Yesterday, the multi-ministerial task force announced new curbs - that will last a month - to slow the surge in Covid-19 cases.