New COVID cases in Singapore rise to 13,011; 3 more deaths
10-Feb-2022 Intellasia |
Yahoo News Singapore |
5:02 AM
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 13,011 new COVID-19 infections in Singapore on Tuesday (8 February), up from 7,806 the previous day, bringing the country’s total case count to 418,640.
Of them, 12,791 or some 98 per cent are local: 10,038 were detected via antigen rapid tests (ART) and 2,753 via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. A total of 1,252 local cases are aged 11 and below, up from 918 the previous day.
The remaining 220 new cases are imported. Of them, 27 were detected via ART while 193 were detected via PCR tests.
Three COVID-19 related deaths were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total number of people who have succumbed to the disease here to 877.
The weekly infection growth rate or ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before was 1.69 on Tuesday, up from 1.52 the previous day.
A figure of over one means that the number of new weekly cases is on the rise. The rate reached a peak of 3.01 on 30 August last year, according to the MOH.
A total of 8,892 cases were discharged, while 1,194 remain warded, up from 1,165 hospitalised cases on Monday. This marks the fourth day in a row hospitalisation cases have crossed the 1,000 mark.
Of those still hospitalised, 107 require oxygen supplementation, while 23 are in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The MOH did not provide Tuesday’s overall ICU utilisation rate. Over the last 28 days, of the 121,587 infected individuals, 99.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms.
Children aged 5 to 11 have highest infection rate
Health minister Ong Ye Kung at the Singapore Health Quality Service Awards 2022 on Tuesday afternoon said that children aged 5 to 11 currently have the highest infection rate among the age groups here, at about 67 per 100,000 population.
This is followed by those aged 12 to 19, at an infection rate of about 55 per 100,000 population, he added.
“This was quite different, compared to during the Delta wave, which mostly infected older and working adults. With more children and young people getting infected, severe cases are inevitable and we need to ensure that there are sufficient beds for them,” Ong said.
As such, public and private hospitals are standing up more beds for children, while COVID-19 treatment facilities (CTFs) are also converting more beds for children and their caregivers, he added.
Ong said that during his visit to [email protected] at EXPO on Monday, he noted that there were 660 such beds being prepared there.
“Fortunately, children admission to hospitals and CTFs due to COVID-19 is often precautionary in nature, with short stays of about two to three days. Notwithstanding, it is important to get them vaccinated to protect them against the risk of severe illness should they get infected,” he said.
Over 31,000 aged 18 and above yet to make booster appointments
Separately, the MOH in a press release on Tuesday afternoon said that as of the previous day, about 31,500 eligible individuals aged 18 years and above who have taken the last dose of their primary series more than 270 days ago have yet to make their booster appointments.
As announced previously, these individuals will no longer be considered as fully vaccinated from 14 February and their vaccination status will revert to “additional dose needed”, the ministry added.
This will also apply to those who received recognised non-mRNA primary vaccination regimens offered under the National Vaccination Programme, such as three doses of the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines, as well as regimens of other World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing vaccines.
“We strongly urge these individuals to make their appointments or walk in to any of the vaccination centres for their booster dose as soon as possible,” said the MOH.
It added that those who are medically ineligible for mRNA vaccines may consider taking the Sinovac vaccine to boost their protection against COVID-19 jab, but otherwise, CoronaVac is not recommended to be taken as a booster jab.
As of Monday, the total number of individuals who have completed their full regimen or received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines is 93 per cent of the eligible population.
Among the total population, 89 per cent have done so, while 92 per cent have received at least one dose, and 61 per cent have received their booster shots.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-new-covid-cases-rises-to-13011-3-more-deaths-145437298.html
Category: Singapore
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