Twenty-six new Covid-19 cases were linked to staff at bus interchanges yesterday, bringing the total number of cases across eight interchanges to 416.
Toa Payoh Bus Interchange, which has the highest number of cases among the interchanges, saw the sharpest increase of 11 new cases, bringing its total to 130.
The Boon Lay Bus Interchange cluster had six new cases, bringing its total to 99, while the Clementi Bus Interchange cluster went up by five cases to 34.
The situation at the Bishan, Jurong East and Sengkang bus interchanges improved, with no new cases reported, said the Ministry of Health in its nightly update.
There were also 21 new Covid-19 cases linked to the cluster at Changi General Hospital, bringing its total to 36.
Three new clusters were announced yesterday.
One new case was linked to the new cluster at Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard, bringing its total to eight.
Two new cases were added to the Radiance Student Care Centre cluster in Serangoon, bringing its total to four.
Two new cases were also linked to staff at Orient Goldsmiths and Jewellers in Toa Payoh, which now has three cases.
Meanwhile, the Bugis Junction cluster has grown by six cases to 261.
The Institute of Mental Health has two new cases, bringing its total to 17.
There are 62 open clusters, each with three to 1,155 infections.
There were 253 new locally transmitted infections and six imported cases reported yesterday, for a total of 259 cases.
There were also 116 unlinked cases - the highest daily number of unlinked cases to date.
The new cases bring Singapore's total to 68,469.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased to 1,167 cases in the past week, from 551 cases in the week before.
The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased to 470 cases in the past week, from 128 cases in the week before.
There are 608 Covid-19 patients warded in hospitals, including 22 who are seriously ill and require oxygen supplementation, and five in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Of those who have fallen very ill, 22 are seniors above 60 years old. Of these 22 patients, 12 are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
As at Friday, 81 per cent of Singapore's population had been fully vaccinated while 83 per cent had received at least one dose.
Singapore's director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, had said at the multi-ministry task force press conference on Friday that while the increased number of cases will naturally raise concern among the public that the Covid-19 situation may be deteriorating, the rise is in fact not unexpected.
He said that it is a result of Singapore easing its restrictions, with more people leaving their homes for work and social activities, including dining at eateries and other mask-off interactions.
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, also said previously that the unintended consequence of having more of the population vaccinated is the emergence of more unlinked cases.
This is because a vaccinated person who is infected is likely to be silently transmitting the virus, with mild or no symptoms at all.
