Yesterday (23 Oct), co-chair of COVID-19 task force Lawrence Wong said some restrictions may be eased if the weekly infection growth rate drops below 1.
This refers to the ratio of community COVID-19 cases in the past week to the week before. While the ratio was at 1.5 at one point – meaning cases would double every two weeks – it has since dropped to 1.14.
If this continues, family members may be allowed to dine together in groups of up to five, and team sports may also be allowed to resume with up to five participants, among other things.
It’s been evident in recent days that our case count hasn’t been climbing as steadily as it used to. In fact, it’s gone down on several days, yesterday included. Unfortunately, some severe cases are still succumbing to the disease.
6 COVID-19 Fatalities; 2 Fully Vaccinated
Six more COVID-19 cases passed away from complications, bringing our death toll to 300.
They were two men and four women, aged between 61 and 91. Four were unvaccinated against COVID-19 and two were fully vaccinated.
All had various underlying medical conditions, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
3,598 New COVID-19 Cases
3,598 new COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday (18 Oct), a decrease of 39 from the previous day’s tally.
The cases comprise 2,804 infections in the community, 790 in migrant worker dormitories, and four imported infections.
Among the local cases are 471 seniors above 60.
Clusters at Two Residential Facilities Closely Monitored by MOH
At present, the health ministry is monitoring two COVID-19 clusters.
The first is at the assisted living facility Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village. With 6 new cases, the cluster now has 60 infections in total. 59 residents and one staff member have been infected.
The other cluster, AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens, swelled to 59 infections after ten more were added to it. All 59 cases in the cluster are residents.
These clusters have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing, and isolation, MOH said.
1,680 COVID-19 Cases in Hospital; 149 in ICU
At the moment, there are 1,680 COVID-19 cases warded in hospitals, most of whom are well and under observation.
269 serious cases require oxygen supplementation and 149 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
In its report, MOH explained that 91 cases in the ICU are unstable and under close monitoring to prevent further deterioration. The other 58 are critically ill and intubated.
In addition, there are 17,725 cases undergoing home recovery, 4,796 in community care facilities, and 960 are in COVID-19 treatment facilities.
Currently, 84% of our population has been fully vaccinated. 85% have received at least one dose.
Of those who have passed away over the last 28 days, 31.2% were fully vaccinated and 68.8% were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
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Featured Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purposes only)
