219 new cases of COVID-19 infection in S’pore; 216 locally transmitted cases, 109 unlinked

As of Friday noon (3 Sep), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed an additional 219 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore.This brings the total number of infection cases to 68,210.There are 216 new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection, of which 56 are linked to previous cases, and have already been placed on quarantine. 51 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance. 109 are currently unlinked.Amongst the cases are two seniors above 70 years who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and are at risk of serious illness.In addition, there are three new imported cases, who have already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. Two were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while one developed the illness during SHN or isolation.The Ministry will share further updates in its press release tonight.

Condition of confirmed cases & progress of national vaccination programme

According to last night’s press release, 528 cases are currently warded in hospital. Most are well and under observation.There are currently 27 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and five 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 8.2 per cent, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.1 per cent, said MOH.

“As of 1 September 2021, 80% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 83% has received at least one dose,” the Ministry added.In August alone, 18 individuals have died from complications due to COVID-19 infection. In total, Singapore’s COVID-19 death toll has reached 55.

MOH stopped providing details of COVID-19 community cases

As Singapore moves towards a new phase of battling the pandemic, the MOH said in a statement on 29 June that it will no longer disclose details of each new COVID-19 case detected in the community.“Besides daily numbers, we will include information on the key trends of the local situation, clusters we are monitoring, progress of vaccination and the number of people who suffered a severe form of the disease,” said the Ministry.According to the MOH, this decision was made by the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force, with a “strong focus on preventing the virus from spreading, vaccinating our population and starting the process to transit to a new normal”.