SINGAPORE - The number of serious Covid-19 cases in Singapore has edged downwards to the lowest in over three weeks.
There are currently 22 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and seven in critical condition in the intensive care unit, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily evening update on Saturday (Aug 21) .
This tally of 29 serious illness cases is the lowest since July 28, when there were 25 such Covid-19 cases.
MOH said that of the serious cases, 23 are seniors aged 60 and above. Of this group, 18 are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 clusters now stands at 76, after two clusters were closed and one new cluster was detected. The tally is the lowest since July 30, when there were 71 active clusters of infection.
MOH said that the current 76 clusters range between 3 and 1,155 infections. The largest cluster is the Jurong Fishery Port/Hong Lim Market and Food Centre cluster, which has 1,155 cases.
There were 32 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases as at Saturday noon.
Of the new infections, 11 were linked to previous cases and already quarantined.
Another five linked cases were not in quarantine when they tested positive.
The remaining 16 were unlinked cases.
Among the cases is one senior aged above 70 who is unvaccinated and at risk of serious illness, MOH said.
There were also five imported cases that were detected and placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.
In total, there were 37 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore on Saturday, bringing the country's total to 66,443.
There are 364 cases who are currently warded in hospital. Most of the cases are well and under observation, said MOH.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 377 cases in the week before to 260 cases in the past week, MOH added.
The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from 98 cases in the week before to 87 cases in the past week.
On the Covid-19 vaccination progress in Singapore, MOH said that 78 per cent of Singapore's population have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and 82 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
MOH also reiterated that there is continuing evidence that almost all fully vaccinated individuals do not suffer serious disease when infected, unless they had underlying medical conditions that made them more susceptible.
The ministry said that over the last 28 days, the percentage of unvaccinated patients who became severely ill or died is 8.8 per cent, while that for those fully vaccinated is 1.7 per cent.
