Update on Local COVID-19 Situation and Vaccination Progress

Summary of local situation

• As of 23 August 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified that there are 94 cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection and 4 imported cases.

• 59 of the cases are linked to North Coast Lodge, and were detected through testing operations conducted from 21 August after 3 residents at the dormitory tested positive for COVID-19 infection during Rostered Routine Testing. As a precautionary measure, all residents at the dormitory have been placed on Movement Restriction Order.

• 336 cases are currently warded in hospital. Most are well and under observation. There are currently 21 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and 7 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

• Over the last 28 days, the percentage of unvaccinated who became severely ill or died is 8.8%, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.7%.

• As of 22 August 2021, 78% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82% has received at least one dose.

Update on vaccination progress

1. As of 22 August 2021, we have administered a total of 8,588,011 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty and Moderna), covering 4,477,965 individuals, with 4,238,764 individuals having completed the full vaccination regimen.

2. In addition, 159,438 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of 22 August 2021, covering 84,982 individuals. In total, 78% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82% has received at least one dose.

Figure 1: Percentage of Total Population who Received At Least First Dose[1] and Completed Full Regimen[2] of NVP and WHO EUL Vaccines[3]

Figure 2: Percentage of Vaccinated Individuals who Received At Least First Dose of NVP and WHO EUL Vaccines by Age Group

Figure 3: Percentage of Individuals who Completed Full Regimen of NVP and WHO EUL Vaccines by Age Group

Condition of hospitalised cases

3. 336 cases are currently warded in hospital. There are currently 21 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and 7 in critical condition in the ICU. Of those who have fallen very ill, 22 are seniors above 60 years, of whom 18 are completely unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

4. Case 67375, an 86 year-old female Singaporean, has passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection on 23 August 2021. Her case was first reported on 2 August. She had been admitted to Changi General Hospital on 23 July for an unrelated medical condition, and tested negative for COVID-19 during admission and again on 29 July. She was detected when she was tested on 2 August as she had been identified as a close contact of a patient who was a confirmed case. She had not been vaccinated against COVID-19, and had a history of cancer and hypertension. In total, 50 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Figure 4: Number of Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation

Figure 5: Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, by Age Group

5. There is continuing evidence that almost all fully-vaccinated individuals do not suffer serious disease when infected, unless if they had underlying medical conditions that made them more susceptible. Over the last 28 days, the percentage of unvaccinated who became severely ill or died is 8.8%, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.7%.

Figure 6: Local Cases in the Last 28 Days by Vaccination Status & Severity of Condition[4]

Figure 7: Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, by Vaccination Status

Locally transmitted COVID-19 cases

6.     There are 94 cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection today.

7.     59 of the cases are linked to North Coast Lodge, and were detected through testing operations conducted from 21 August after 3 residents at the dormitory tested positive for COVID-19 infection on 21 August during Rostered Routine Testing. So far, about 2,200 workers have been swabbed, and testing for the rest of the 3,200 residents is ongoing. As a precautionary measure, all residents at the dormitory have been placed on Movement Restriction Order. The confirmed cases are mostly asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

8.     Of the remaining 35 cases, 16 are linked to previous cases, and have already been placed on quarantine. 19 are currently unlinked.

9.     There are 4 imported cases, who have already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. In total, there are 98 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore today.

Figure 8: Number of Local Unlinked Cases and Linked Cases by Already Quarantined/ Detected through Surveillance [5]

10.     Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 331 cases in the week before to 240 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 83 cases in the week before to 101 cases in the past week. The 7-day moving average number of all linked community cases and all unlinked community cases are 19.9 and 14.4 respectively.

Figure 9: 7 Day Moving Average Number of Community Unlinked and Linked Cases[5]

Figure 10: Local Cases in the Last 14 Days by Age Group and Vaccination Status

Summary of trends for imported cases

11.     There are a total of 4 imported cases. Of these, 2 were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while 2 developed the illness during SHN or isolation.

Figure 11: Number of Imported Cases by Detected Upon Arrival/ Detected during SHN or Isolation

Active clusters under monitoring

12.     There are no new clusters today, and 2 clusters have closed. There are currently 70 clusters, ranging between 3 and 1,155 infections.

Figure 12: Number of Active Clusters

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

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

23 AUGUST 2021

[1] Based on National Immunisation Registry data.

[2] Full regimen refers to individuals who have received both doses of the vaccine or one dose for vaccinated recovered individuals.

[3] Other vaccines recognised in the WHO EUL account for about 2% of the total population who received at least 1 dose and about 1% of total population who completed the full regimen.

[4] Fully vaccinated - more than 14 days after completing vaccination regimen (both doses of the vaccine or one dose for recovered individuals). Partially vaccinated – received 1 dose of 2-dose vaccine or COVID-positive within 14 days of completing vaccination regimen.

[5] Incorporates re-classifications of earlier reported cases.

[6] Includes new cases added today.