Yesterday (6 Aug), we finally had some good news.
The authorities announced that we’ll be exiting Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) on 10 Aug, 8 days earlier than when the period of tightened restrictions was supposed to end.
It also laid out a four-step reopening, called the “preparatory stage”.
Since we’re preparing to live with the virus, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, the number of infections will rise.
And this means that our COVID-19 death toll will go up as well. Sadly, we’re already seeing evidence of what that’s like.
S’pore Reports 41st COVID-19 Death, an Unvaccinated 63YO Man Who Was Confirmed to Have COVID-19 After His Death
A 63-year-old man succumbed to the coronavirus on Thursday (5 Aug), making him our fourth COVID-19 fatality in just five days.
The man developed a fever and cough on Tuesday (3 Aug). He collapsed at home on Thursday and was rushed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
The man ended up passing away, and was confirmed to be carrying COVID-19 after his death.
The man had a history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidaemia.
He was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
The man is the 41st COVID-19 patient to die from complications caused by the disease.
93 New Locally Transmitted Infections
Yesterday (6 Aug), the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 93 new locally transmitted infections, including 29 unlinked cases.
Four other cases from abroad were detected, all of whom were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon their arrival in Singapore.
5 New Clusters
Our daily case count is going down, which typically means that the number of new clusters should go down as well.
5 new clusters were identified yesterday, one of which was linked to JEM, which now has four cases.
The four other clusters are:
- Nimble/Knead (spa) – two new cases, three in total
- Chee Song Frozen Foods (food supplier) – three new cases, three in total
- Elsie’s Kitchen (food caterer) – three new cases, four in total
- Case 67702 cluster – three new cases, three in total
546 Cases in Hospital: 7 in ICU
At the moment, there are 546 cases in hospital, most of whom are well and under observation.
38 severe cases require oxygen supplementation while seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Of the 45 cases, six are fully vaccinated; five require oxygen supplementation while one requires intensive care as they have underlying medical conditions.
35 of them are seniors above 60 who have fallen very ill, of whom five are fully vaccinated.
Restrictions to be Eased on 10 Aug
As previously mentioned, some of the tightened restrictions currently in place will be relaxed on 10 Aug, instead of 18 Aug.
This includes increasing social gathering group size limits and the number of distinct household visitors per day to five.
This is for vaccinated people, however.
Unvaccinated individuals should remain in groups of no more than two, to reduce the likelihood of transmission and severe infection.
We should also limit our social gatherings to two a day, and limit our social circle to a small group of people.
Dining in will also be allowed for both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents in certain places such as coffee shops and hawker centres, but the former group will be permitted to dine in groups of five, while the latter will be restricted to two.
As for restaurants, only vaccinated diners will be allowed, and in groups of five.
Unvaccinated children aged 12 years and below may be included within the group of five diners as long as all the children are from the same household.
Do note that a person will only be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose.
You can read more about the easing of restrictions here.
Watch this video to the end to understand the importance of vaccination:
Read Also:
- 12 Must-Know Updates from 6 Aug COVID-19 Press Conference
- #CancelNasDaily Trending After He Was Called Out for Exploitation
Featured Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com
