UPDATE ON LOCAL COVID-19 SITUATION (5 DEC 2021)

Summary of local situation

·      863 cases remain warded in hospital. 155 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 6 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 52 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 51.2%.

·      Over the last 28 days, of the 50,617 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.2% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died.

·      As of 4 December 2021, the total number of individuals who have completed their full regimen/received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines constitutes 96% of the eligible population, and 87% of the total population.  As a percentage of total population, 87% has received at least one dose, and 28% has received their booster shots.

·      Over the past day, 1,518 cases were discharged, of whom 242 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 552 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 523 in the community, 14 in the migrant worker dormitories and 15 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 0.66.

·      The Ministry of Health (MOH) has detected one more imported COVID-19 case who has tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant. The case is fully vaccinated, and has mild symptoms. He had not interacted in the community, and there is currently no evidence of any community transmission from the case.

Situation at Hospitals

1.       As of 5 December 2021, 155 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 6 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 52 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 51.2%.

Figure 1: Daily Adult ICU Bed Utilisation

Status of Patients

2.             Over the last 28 days, 98.7% of local infected cases were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.1% were unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 0.1% had been critically ill and intubated in the ICU.

Figure 2: Local Cases in the Last 28 Days by Severity of Condition¹
 

3.             Seniors 60 years old and above, especially if unvaccinated, continue to be more adversely affected by COVID-19:

Figure 3: Patients Needing Oxygen Supplementation, ICU Care or Died², by Age Groups

Vaccination

4.             As of 4 December 2021, the total number of individuals who have completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines constitutes 96% of the eligible population, and 87% of the total population.  As a percentage of total population, 87% has received at least one dose, and 28% has received their booster shots.

5.             Over the past 7 days, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are at 0.6 and 3.9 per 100,000 population respectively. Over the same period, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who died are 0.1 and 0.6 per 100,000 population respectively. Among seniors aged 60 and above, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are 2.0 and 34.2 respectively.  The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 6.2 respectively.

Figure 4: 7-Day Moving Average of Number of Deaths and Active Cases in ICU, per 100,000 Population by Vaccination Status³

Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6.             Over the past day, 1,518 cases were discharged, of whom 242 are seniors aged 60 years and above.

7.             As of 5 December 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 552 new cases of COVID-19 infection, comprising 523 community cases, 14 dormitory resident cases and 15 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 89 seniors who are aged 60 years and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 0.66.

8.             13 more cases, aged between 52 and 96 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All of them had various underlying medical conditions.

Figure 5: Number of Community Cases by Age

Figure 6: Week-on-week Infection Ratio⁴

9.             We are closely monitoring the cluster listed below, which has already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Update on Omicron variant

10.             MOH has detected one more imported COVID-19 case who has tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant. The case is currently recovering in an isolation ward at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). He is fully vaccinated, and has mild symptoms of fever and sore throat. He had not interacted in the community, and there is currently no evidence of any community transmission from the case.

11.             Case 273611 is a 37 year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who arrived in Singapore from South Africa on board SQ479 on 1 December, and was on the same flight as Cases 271487 and 271958⁶. His pre-departure test in Johannesburg on 29 November was negative for COVID-19 infection. Upon arrival in Singapore, he was isolated at a Stay-Home Notice (SHN) dedicated facility, and his polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on 1 and 3 December came back negative. On 4 December, he developed a fever and sore throat and was conveyed to NCID, where he tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant. The National Public Health Laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing to confirm the variant.

12.             All 18 other passengers on the flight have tested negative for COVID-19 infection and are isolated at designated SHN facilities.

13.  Please refer to MOH’s daily Situation Report (www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report) for details.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
5 DECEMBER 2021

[1] Includes only new cases reported in the past 28 days. Based on cases’ worst-ever condition; deceased cases previously in ICU are counted under ‘Deceased’ and not under ‘Ever Critically ill and Intubated in ICU’.
[2] May differ from the deaths reported for the day as the latter includes those who have passed on earlier, but whose cause of death was investigated and confirmed only later, e.g. Coroner’s cases.
[3] Non-fully vaccinated comprises persons who are partially vaccinated and completely unvaccinated.
[4] Ratio of community cases in the past week over the week before.
[5] Includes new cases added today.
[6] MOH announced on 2 December that Cases 271487 and 271958 had tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant. The confirmatory test results are pending.