Gahmen needs to come clean on those cases classified as "work permit holders not residing in domintories"

[jw5]

from MOH report 26 October 2021:

Summary of local situation​

• 2,856 cases were discharged today, of whom 435 are seniors aged 60 and above.​
• Over the last 28 days, of the 87,150 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.9% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.1% were unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), 0.1% were critically ill and intubated in the ICU, and 0.2% has died.​
• 1,787 cases remain warded in hospital. 289 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 79 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU, and 67 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 79.2%.​
• As of 25 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 13% has received boosters.​
• As of 26 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has detected a total of 3,277 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, with 2,984 in the community, 288 in the migrant worker dormitories and 5 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.11.​

Situation update

1. Over the last 28 days, 98.7% of local infected cases were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, 0.9% 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 1: Local Cases in the Last 28 Days by Severity of Condition1

2. As of 26 October 2021, 289 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 79 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 67 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 79.2%.

3. MOH has been working with the hospitals to set aside more ICU beds for COVID-19 patients, as and when we need them. In view of the current ICU occupancy rates, we have triggered the next 100 ICU beds, which will be ready next week. While we are able to stand up ICU beds at short notice, the increased load of patients adds strain and pressure on the healthcare system and our healthcare workers. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated if they have not done so, so as to protect themselves and help ease the patient load on the healthcare system. For those who are not vaccinated, we urge them to minimise unnecessary movement and social interactions.

Figure 2: Daily Adult ICU Bed Utilisation



4. 10 more cases, aged between 66 and 98 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All except an unvaccinated case had various underlying medical conditions.

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


5. 2,856 cases were discharged today, of whom 435 are seniors aged 60 and above. As of 26 October 2021, 12pm, amongst all COVID-19 community cases who have been onboarded or admitted, 19,013 (72.4%) cases are undergoing Home Recovery. 4,570 (17.4%) cases are in Community Care Facilities mostly because their homes are not suitable for Home Recovery, 878 (3.3%) cases are in COVID-19 Treatment Facilities, and 1,787 (6.8%) COVID-19 patients are currently warded in hospital, mostly for observation.

Figure 4: Breakdown of Number of Active Cases in Hospital, COVID-19 Treatment Facilities, Community Care Facilities, and Home Recovery Programme in the Last 7 Days

Vaccination

6. As of 25 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 13% have received their booster shots.

7. We have administered a total of 10,003,952 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, Moderna and Sinovac). In total, 4,731,066 individuals have received at least one dose of vaccine under the national vaccination programme, 4,670,973 individuals having completed the full vaccination regimen, and 724,762 have taken their booster shots. In addition, 42,623 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered, covering 24,130 individuals.

8. Over the past 7 days, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are at 0.5 and 4.3 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 0.8 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 2.2 and 31.7 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.4 and 8.1 respectively.

Figure 5: 7-Day Moving Average of Number of Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, per 100,000 Population by Vaccination Status3


Active clusters under close monitoring

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

Figure 6: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster	New Cases	Total4	Remarks
NTUC Health (Jurong West) Nursing Home	1	15	Transmission amongst residents. Of the 15 cases, all are residents.
Maple Bear Loyang	2	14	Transmission amongst staff and students. Of the 14 cases, 2 are staff and 12 are students.
Institute of Mental Health	4	138	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 138 cases, 10 are staff and 128 are patients.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	6	77	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 77 cases, 1 is a staff and 76 are residents.
AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens	8	79	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 79 cases, 1 is a staff and 78 cases are residents.
Bukit Batok Home for the Aged	2	156	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 156 cases, 6 are staff and 150 are residents.

Summary of trends for local cases

10. As of 26 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,277 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, comprising 2,984 community cases, 288 dormitory resident cases and 5 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 506 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.11.

Figure 7: Number of Community Cases by Age


Figure 8: Weekly Infection Growth Rate5

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

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
26 OCTOBER 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] Includes new cases added today.
[5] Ratio of community cases in the past week over the week before.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 27 October 2021:

Summary of local situation · 3,172 cases were discharged today, of whom 484 are seniors aged 60 and above. · Over the last 28 days, of the 90,203 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.9% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.1% were unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), 0.1% were critically ill and intubated in the ICU, and 0.2% has died. · 1,777 cases remain warded in hospital. 308 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 76 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU, and 66 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 79.8% and the Ministry of Health (MOH) is in the process of standing up more ICU beds. · As of 26 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 14% has received boosters. · As of 27 October 2021, 12pm, MOH has detected a total of 5,324 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, with 4,651 in the community, 661 in the migrant worker dormitories and 12 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.15. · The infection numbers are unusually high today, mostly due to many COVID-positive cases detected by the testing laboratories within a few hours in the afternoon. MOH is looking into this unusual surge in cases within a relatively short window, and closely monitoring the trends for the next few days.

Situation update

1. Over the last 28 days, 98.7% of local infected cases were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, 0.9% 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 1: Local Cases in the Last 28 Days by Severity of Condition1

2. As of 27 October 2021, 308 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 76 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 66 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 79.8%, and MOH is in the process of standing up more ICU beds.

Figure 2: Daily Adult ICU Bed Utilisation


3. 10 more cases, aged between 54 and 96 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All except an unvaccinated case had various underlying medical conditions.

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


4. 3,172 cases were discharged today, of whom 484 are seniors aged 60 and above. As of 27 October 2021, 12pm, amongst all COVID-19 community cases who have been onboarded or admitted, 20,895 (74.3%) cases are undergoing Home Recovery. 4,589 (16.3%) cases are in Community Care Facilities mostly because their homes are not suitable for Home Recovery, 849 (3.0%) cases are in COVID-19 Treatment Facilities, and 1,777 (6.3%) COVID-19 patients are currently warded in hospital, mostly for observation.

Figure 4: Breakdown of Number of Active Cases in Hospital, COVID-19 Treatment Facilities, Community Care Facilities, and Home Recovery Programme in the Last 7 Days


Vaccination

5. As of 26 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 14% have received their booster shots.

6. We have administered a total of 10,029,148 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, Moderna and Sinovac). In total, 4,733,014 individuals have received at least one dose of vaccine under the national vaccination programme, 4,673,461 individuals having completed the full vaccination regimen, and 745,102 have taken their booster shots. In addition, 43,773 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered, covering 24,471 individuals.

7. Over the past 7 days, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are at 0.5 and 4.3 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 0.8 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 2.2 and 32.6 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 7.7 respectively.

Figure 5: 7-Day Moving Average of Number of Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, per 100,000 Population by Vaccination Status3


Active clusters under close monitoring

8. We are closely monitoring the clusters listed below, which have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.

Figure 6: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total4​	Remarks​
Maple Bear Loyang	2​	16​	Transmission amongst staff and students. Of the 16 cases, 3 are staff and 13 are students.
Institute of Mental Health	9​	153​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 153 cases, 10 are staff and 143 are patients.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	2​	79​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 79 cases, 1 is a staff and 78 are residents.
AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens	2​	80​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 80 cases, 1 is a staff and 79 cases are residents.
Bukit Batok Home for the Aged	1​	157​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 157 cases, 6 are staff and 151 are residents.
MWS Christalite Methodist Home	2​	126​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 126 cases, 14 are staff and 112 are residents.
PCF Sparkletots @ Zhenghua (632A Senja Road)	1​	26​	Transmission amongst staff and students. Of the 26 cases, 5 are staff, 13 are students and 8 are household contacts of cases.

Summary of trends for local cases

9. As of 27 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 5,324 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, comprising 4,651 community cases, 661 dormitory resident cases and 12 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 728 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.15.

10. The infection numbers are unusually high today, mostly due to many COVID-positive cases detected by the testing laboratories within a few hours in the afternoon. MOH is looking into this unusual surge in cases within a relatively short window, and closely monitoring the trends for the next few days.

Figure 7: Number of Community Cases by Age

Figure 8: Weekly Infection Growth Rate5


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


MINISTRY OF HEALTH
27 OCTOBER 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 Includes new cases added today.
5 Ratio of community cases in the past week over the week before.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 28 October 2021:

Summary of local situation

· 4,348 cases were discharged today, of whom 710 are seniors aged 60 years and above.

· Over the last 28 days, of the 91,146 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.9% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.1% were unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), 0.1% were critically ill and intubated in the ICU, and 0.2% has died.

· 1,732 cases remain warded in hospital. 294 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 75 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU, and 61 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.8%.

· As of 27 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 14% has received boosters.

· As of 28 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has detected a total of 3,432 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, with 3,171 in the community, 252 in the migrant worker dormitories and 9 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.13.

SITUATION UPDATE​

1. Over the last 28 days, 98.7% of local infected cases were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, 0.9% 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 1: Local Cases in the Last 28 Days by Severity of Condition1
​

2. As of 28 October 2021, 294 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 75 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 61 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.8%.

Figure 2: Daily Adult ICU Bed Utilisation
​

3. 15 more cases, aged between 62 and 98 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All of them had various underlying medical conditions.

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

4. 4,348 cases were discharged today, of whom 710 are seniors aged 60 and above. As of 28 October 2021, 12pm, amongst all COVID-19 community cases who have been onboarded or admitted, 20,202 (73.6%) cases are undergoing Home Recovery. 4,581 (16.7%) cases are in Community Care Facilities mostly because their homes are not suitable for Home Recovery, 942 (3.4%) cases are in COVID-19 Treatment Facilities, and 1,732 (6.3%) COVID-19 patients are currently warded in hospital, mostly for observation.

Figure 4: Breakdown of Number of Active Cases in Hospital, COVID-19 Treatment Facilities, Community Care Facilities, and Home Recovery Programme in the Last 7 Days
​

Vaccination

5. As of 27 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 14% has received their booster shots.

6. We have administered a total of 10,049,015 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty, Moderna and Sinovac). In total, 4,734,669 individuals have received at least one dose of vaccine under the national vaccination programme, 4,675,888 individuals having completed the full vaccination regimen, and 760,408 have taken their booster shots. In addition, 45,484 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered, covering 25,079 individuals.

7. Over the past 7 days, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who are critically ill in the ICU are at 0.5 and 4.3 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 0.9 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 2.1 and 34.0 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 8.9 respectively.

Figure 5: 7-Day Moving Average of Number of Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, per 100,000 Population by Vaccination Status3
​

Active clusters under close monitoring

8. We are closely monitoring the clusters listed below, which have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.

Figure 6: Large Clusters with New Cases​

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total4​	Remarks​
PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85	3​	12​	Transmission amongst students. Of the 12 cases, 10 are students and 2 are household contacts of cases.
Maple Bear Loyang	2​	18​	Transmission amongst staff and students. Of the 18 cases, 3 are staff, 13 are students and 2 are household contacts of cases.
Institute of Mental Health	4​	158​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 158 cases, 12 are staff and 146 are patients.
AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens	2​	84​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 84 cases, 2 are staff and 82 cases are residents.
Bukit Batok Home for the Aged	2​	159​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 159 cases, 6 are staff and 153 are residents.
United Medical Centre – Toa Payoh	1​	139​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 139 cases, 22 are staff, 116 are residents and 1 household contact of cases.

Summary of trends for local cases

9. As of 28 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,432 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, comprising 3,171 community cases, 252 dormitory resident cases and 9 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 545 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.13.

Figure 7: Number of Community Cases by Age

Figure 8: Weekly Infection Growth Rate5
​

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



MINISTRY OF HEALTH
28 OCTOBER 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] Includes new cases added today.
[5] Ratio of community cases in the past week over the week before.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 29 October 2021:

Summary of local situation 1,614 cases remain warded in hospital. 257 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 80 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 59 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 74.0%. Over the last 28 days, of the 92,499 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% are in the ICU, and 0.2% has died. As of 28 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 14% has received boosters. Over the past day, 3,011 cases were discharged today, of whom 489 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 4,248 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 3,710 in the community, 536 in the migrant worker dormitories and 2 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.15.

SITUATION AT HOSPITALS​

1. As of 29 October 2021, 257 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 80 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 59 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 74.0%.
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, 0.2% 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 Condition[1]





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 Died[2], by Age Groups



Vaccination
4. As of 28 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 14% 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 0.5 and 4.4 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 0.9 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 2.1 and 35.0 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.4 and 8.8 respectively.

Figure 4: 7-Day Moving Average of Number of Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, per 100,000 Population by Vaccination Status[3]
​

Inflow and Outflow of Cases
6. Over the past day, 3,011 cases were discharged, of whom 489 are seniors aged 60 and above.

7. As of 29 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 4,248 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, comprising 3,710 community cases, 536 dormitory resident cases and 2 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 559 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.15.


8. 16 more cases, aged between 44 and 90 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All of them had various underlying medical conditions. The 44 year-old individual had not been vaccinated against COVID-19.


Figure 5: Number of Community Cases by Age


Figure 6: Weekly Infection Growth Rate[4]

9. We are closely monitoring the clusters listed below, which have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.
Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total[5]​	Remarks​
NTUC Health Senior Day Care (Taman Jurong)	2​	24​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 24 cases, 4 are staff, 18 are residents and 2 household contacts of cases.
PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85	5​	17​	Transmission amongst students. Of the 17 cases, 11 are students and 6 are household contacts of cases.
Maple Bear Loyang	7​	25​	Transmission amongst staff and students. Of the 25 cases, 3 are staff, 15 are students and 7 are household contacts of cases.
Institute of Mental Health	16​	221​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 221 cases, 14 are staff and 207 are patients.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	2​	81​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 81 cases, 1 is a staff, and 80 are residents.

10. Please refer to MOH’s daily Situation Report (www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report) for details.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
29 OCTOBER 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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 30 October 2021:

Summary of local situation



· 1,627 cases remain warded in hospital. 267 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 69 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 60 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 68.1%.



· Over the last 28 days, of the 93,257 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died.



· As of 29 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 15% has received boosters.



· Over the past day, 3,912 cases were discharged, of whom 587 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 3,112 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 2,608 in the community, 500 in the migrant worker dormitories and 4 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.14.

SITUATION AT HOSPITALS​

1. As of 30 October 2021, 267 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 69 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 60 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 68.1%.

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, 0.2% 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 29 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 15% 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 0.5 and 4.4 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 1.0 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 2.1 and 35.3 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.4 and 9.3 respectively.

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

Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6. Over the past day, 3,912 cases were discharged, of whom 587 are seniors aged 60 and above.

7. As of 30 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,112 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, comprising 2,608 community cases, 500 dormitory resident cases and 4 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 408 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.14.

8. 14 more cases, aged between 63 and 98 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: Weekly Infection Growth Rate4
​

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

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases​

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total5​	Remarks​
Orange Valley Nursing Home (Clementi)	1​	11​	Transmission amongst residents. Of the 11 cases, all are residents.
ECON Medicare Centre & Nursing Home (10 Buangkok View Block 9)	4​	29​	Transmission amongst residents. Of the 29 cases, all are residents.
St Luke’s Hospital	7​	20​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 20 cases, 4 are staff and 16 are patients.
PCF Sparkletots @ Changi Simei Block 141	1​	15​	Transmission amongst students. Of the 15 cases, 2 are staff, 11 are students and 2 are household contacts of cases.
PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85	1​	18​	Transmission amongst students. Of the 18 cases, 11 are students and 7 are household contacts of cases.
Institute of Mental Health	3​	237​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 237 cases, 16 are staff and 221 are patients.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	3​	84​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 84 cases, 1 is a staff, and 83 are residents.
AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens	1​	85​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 85 cases, 2 are staff, 82 cases are residents and 1 is a household contact of case.

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



MINISTRY OF HEALTH
30 OCTOBER 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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 31 October 2021:

Summary of local situation 1,672 cases remain warded in hospital. 284 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 69 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 61 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 68.3%. Over the last 28 days, of the 94,369 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died. As of 30 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 15% has received boosters. Over the past day, 3,759 cases were discharged, of whom 528 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 3,163 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 2,745 in the community, 414 in the migrant worker dormitories and 4 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.12.

Situation at Hospitals

1. As of 31 October 2021, 284 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 69 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 61 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 68.3%.

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, 0.2% 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 30 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 15% 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 0.5 and 4.5 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 0.9 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 35.8 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.4 and 8.7 respectively.

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




Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6. Over the past day, 3,759 cases were discharged, of whom 528 are seniors aged 60 and above.

7. As of 31 October 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,163 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, comprising 2,745 community cases, 414 dormitory resident cases and 4 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 531 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.12.

8. 13 more cases, aged between 57 and 89 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All of them had various underlying medical conditions, except for 2 unvaccinated/ partially vaccinated individuals who had no known medical conditions.

Figure 5: Number of Community Cases by Age



Figure 6: Weekly Infection Growth Rate4



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

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster	New Cases	Total5	Remarks
Orange Valley Nursing Home (Clementi)	1	14	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 14 cases, 1 is a staff and 13 are residents.
ECON Medicare Centre & Nursing Home (10 Buangkok View Block 9)	5	34	Transmission amongst residents. Of the 34 cases, all are residents.
PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85	1	20	Transmission amongst students. Of the 20 cases, 13 are students and 7 are household contacts of cases.
Institute of Mental Health	3	266	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 266 cases, 16 are staff and 250 are patients.

10. Please refer to MOH's daily Situation Report (http://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report) for details.

---

[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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 1 November 2021:

Summary of local situation

• 1,717 cases remain warded in hospital. 288 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 67 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 62 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 67.1%.
• Over the last 28 days, of the 94,376 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died.
• As of 31 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 16% has received boosters.
• Over the past day, 3,552 cases were discharged, of whom 464 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 2,470 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 2,189 in the community, 278 in the migrant worker dormitories and 3 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.05.

Situation at Hospitals
1. As of 1 November 2021, 288 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 67 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 62 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 67.1%.

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, 0.2% 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 2 by Age Groups


Vaccination

4. As of 31 October 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 16% 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 0.5 and 4.5 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 0.9 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 1.9 and 35.9 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 8.2 respectively.

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


Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6. Over the past day, 3,552 cases were discharged, of whom 464 are seniors aged 60 and above.

7. As of 1 November 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 2,470 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, comprising 2,189 community cases, 278 dormitory resident cases and 3 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 407 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.05.

8. 14 more cases, aged between 56 and 95 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All of them, except for an unvaccinated individual, had various underlying medical conditions.

Figure 5: Number of Community Cases by Age


Figure 6: Weekly Infection Growth Rate4

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

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster	New Cases	Total5	Remarks
Jamiyah Home for the Aged (Tampines)	7	44	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 44 cases, 5 are staff and 39 are residents.
Acacia Home	11	20	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 20 cases, 2 are staff and 18 are residents.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	3	87	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 87 cases, 1 is a staff, and 86 are residents.
Bukit Batok Home for the Aged	1	160	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 160 cases, 6 are staff and 154 are residents.
Orange Valley Nursing Home (Clementi)	3	17	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 17 cases, 1 is a staff and 16 are residents.
Institute of Mental Health	11	278	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 278 cases, 16 are staff and 262 are patients.

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

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
1 NOVEMBER 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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 1 November 2021:

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY DR JANIL PUTHUCHEARY, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, ON UPDATE ON ICU AND HOSPITAL CAPACITY, 1 NOVEMBER 2021​

1. Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to deliver this Statement on behalf of the Minister for Health?


2. Thank you, Sir. From today’s order paper I will address Oral Questions 1 through to 10 and Written Question 40, as well as questions filed by Ms He Ting Ru, Assoc Prof Jamus Lim, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Leong Mun Wai, Ms Mariam Jaafar, as well as Mr Murali Pillai for future sittings. Members may wish to withdraw the questions filed for future sittings if they have had their questions addressed.


3. Sir, it has been five weeks since we entered the Stabilisation Phase. We had tightened restrictions to slow the growth in the number of cases, and to further expand and stabilise our healthcare system. I would like to explain to the House the current situation in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and Hospitals, and address questions about deaths and severe cases from COVID-19. I have been meeting the clinical teams that run the ICUs, visiting them on site to go through operational details, and speaking to their staff to understand the challenges they face. These discussions, and the insights shared, are vital in helping us plan ahead, should infection rates climb and severe cases increase.


4. As of yesterday, we have 1,672 COVID-19 patients admitted into our acute hospitals, and they take up about 18% of hospital beds in our acute public hospitals. The occupancy rate of all our general ward beds is currently at 90%. For isolation beds it is now at 85%.


5. Of the COVID-19 patients who are hospitalised, the more serious cases will need oxygen supplementation. This number of cases continues to increase, with 284 cases currently needing oxygen support in the general wards.


6. The most serious cases need ICU care. The proportion of COVID-19 cases requiring ICU care is at about 0.3% today. Even though this is still only a small proportion, it translates into a large absolute number of ICU patients when the case numbers are high, and will place a serious strain on our ICU capacity.


7. There are currently 130 patients who are critically ill, in the ICU. Some are intubated and require a mechanical ventilator. All of these patients require the continuous care of the ICU team. They occupy around 60% of the 219 ICU beds currently reserved for COVID-19 patients. These patients stay for an average of 11 to 15 days in the ICU, and some stay for up to a month in the ICU.


8. Besides COVID-19 cases, there are also non-COVID-19 patients with life-threatening medical conditions who require ICU care, adding to the sustained load that our hospitals have to bear. Our public hospitals currently operate about 163 adult ICU beds for these patients, with an average occupancy of close to 80%.


9. In comparison, in 2019, before COVID-19 struck, we had 298 adult ICU beds, and the average occupancy rate was 63%. So we have been reducing the non-COVID-19 ICU beds, in order to cope with more COVID-19 patients. This is one of the key trade-offs when we increase the number of COVID-19 ICU beds.


10. We have had to increase the total number of ICU beds to 382 for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients over the past two months. The need to increase the capacity of our healthcare system is a heavy burden carried by the staff, our healthcare workers.


The State of our Healthcare Workers

11. Already, our hospitals are feeling the manpower crunch. Signs of fatigue can be seen amongst our healthcare workers. It has been over 20 months of continuous daily battle against the pandemic. A large proportion of our healthcare workers have not had the opportunity to take leave since 2020, and over 90% of them will not be able to clear their accumulated leave for 2021. This is clearly a much higher proportion compared to the past two years. Our healthcare workers have gone and continue to go way beyond the call of duty to care for their patients. The hospitals are trying to minimise having staff work overtime. For the month of September, our nurses worked for an average of 160 to 175 hours per month.


12. I received a WhatsApp message from a senior member of the clinical teams: “We are getting increasingly stretched, overworked and fatigued. We are armed up... We are uncertain how long we can keep this up. Morale is slipping.” Another colleague sent this: “It feels like what started as a 2.4k run became a marathon, and just as we are reaching the finishing line, we have to run a second marathon. Our people are exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally – whether they will admit it or not.” I know this person as a professional colleague. Their roles to look after ICU patients also extend to looking after their staff and managing their teams, making sure that people are in the position to perform to their best. So words like this, I take it very very seriously.


13. It is therefore not surprising to find resignation rates going up this year. About 1,500 healthcare workers have resigned in the first half of 2021, compared to about 2,000 annually pre-pandemic. Foreign healthcare workers have also resigned in bigger numbers, especially when they are unable to travel to see their families back home. Close to 500 foreign doctors and nurses have resigned in the first half of 2021, as compared to around 500 in the whole of 2020 and around 600 in 2019. About double the usual rate. These resignations were mostly tendered for personal reasons, for migration, or moving back to their home countries.


14. But it is also in such trying circumstances that we find stories of inspiration, stories of commitment to public service. On a recent visit to a COVID-19 ICU, I met a nurse who had been redeployed from her usual job in the Orthopaedic Department into the COVID-19 ICU. She had had a short training and orientation course, and then subsequently on-the-job training from her ICU colleagues. She is senior, a Nurse Clinician, and an Advanced Practice Nurse, with many decades in public service. Although it is a challenge to work in a new environment, with a new set of equipment, drugs and protocols, because of her excellent fundamentals and her experience and resolve, she demonstrated confidence and competence in delivering care that ICU patients need.


15. On the day that I visited, she was looking after her first ever obstetric patient, after many years this is her first obstetric patient, a young lady who had to have her baby delivered prematurely because she had COVID19 and was now needing treatment in the ICU, not in the post-natal ward. An orthopaedic nurse, deployed to a COVID ICU, now looking after an obstetric patient. And there are many others like her, doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers - re-deployed to do what is urgently needed. And despite having to do difficult work in unfamiliar environments they have kept the clinical outcomes excellent, through hard work, professionalism, dedication and resilience.


16. But this is taking a toll. They are getting tired. They are carrying a burden of care that is sometimes unimaginable. Having to hold a phone for a patient so their family can say their last goodbyes. Holding their patient’s hand, to keep them company, on behalf of the patient’s relatives. They need all the support we can give them.



17. At MOH, we are redeploying manpower, to serve as healthcare or patient care assistants at our institutions. We are reaching out to more volunteers to join the SG Healthcare Corps and support this important work. We are collaborating with private hospitals to ease some of the load on healthcare workers in our public hospitals. We are stepping up the recruitment of healthcare workers from overseas.


18. Our public healthcare institutions have also stepped up their outreach to staff to support them through measures to safeguard their well-being. This includes providing counselling services, staff helplines, and peer support programmes.


19. To Dr Tan Wu Meng’s question about hospital departments factoring in sick leave as one of the indicators of work performance, there have previously been isolated incidents, but this practice has ceased. Healthcare workers who are concerned about the way sick leave affects their performance appraisals can approach their union, MOM or MOH for assistance.


Hospital and ICU Capacity

20. Besides addressing the issues of manpower, we have also been working with public, community and private hospitals to set aside more beds for COVID-19 patients. We have also stood up COVID-19 Treatment Facilities (CTFs), which have close to 2,000 beds with an occupancy of 50% or less. We are continuing to add further capacity to our CTFs, with a view to reach around 4,000 beds in November.


21. We will expand our ICU capacity further, in preparation for a potential rise in severe cases. We are currently working with our hospitals to ramp up from 219 to 280 ICU beds for COVID-19 patients. These can be ready this week. If needed, our next expansion will be to 350 beds. We have been repurposing existing hospital wards, such as single rooms and isolation rooms, into additional ICU beds. We have been augmenting ICU manpower by deploying previously trained ICU staff to help with patient care. Non-ICU staff have also been brought in as I described earlier, and they work under the supervision of ICU trained staff. The shift pattern of nurses may have to be adjusted in order to cater to these needs, and this has already started to happen in some hospitals. At the same time, we are also asking the private hospitals to set aside ICU beds to assist in managing both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients who are critically ill.


22. Increasing ICU beds takes time, and it affects regular hospital operations. Converting non-COVID-19 ICU beds for use by COVID-19 patients who need intensive care has a limit, as it diverts resources from non-COVID-19 patients who also need care.


23. The most important limit is the manpower required to staff ICU beds. Patients in ICU need trained staff, who must be able to provide individualised care, including round-the-clock monitoring and continuous care. So, any increase in ICU bed capacity must be supported by an increase in manpower, which has to be diverted from non-COVID ICU duties. Any redeployed staff or new hires also have to undergo training to operate specialised equipment and medical devices in the ICU to care for their COVID-19 patients.


24. Logistically, we can keep stepping up our ICU beds. We have ventilators, equipment, consumables, all the things that are needed. But not enough people. As a result, if we keep increasing beds, we stretch and stretch our healthcare workers. We will come to the point that they will no longer be able to provide that continuous excellent care. Our nurse-to-patient ratio will also be lower, which means each nurse will have to take care of more patients than they do today. In a normal ICU, peacetime, pre-COVID, one nurse looks after 1 or 2 patients. If she has to look after 4, she will not have enough hands or time, to provide the same level of care.


25. There will come a point where even as the Healthcare professionals are doing their best, trying their hardest, more patients will die.


26. And this will affect both COVID and non-COVID patients. As more healthcare resources are diverted to support COVID-19 services, our hospitals’ ability to sustain regular non-COVID-19 services will be reduced.


27. So while we may have plans to step up to certain number of ICU beds, the real situation on the ground, the operational considerations, are not straight forward. We do not want to go anywhere near the theoretically possible number. If we do, the situation can easily get out of hand. It will affect the unvaccinated disproportionately, but it will also affect all the rest of us.


28. MOH has strategies to restrict the number of cases, not only to try to shield our healthcare workers and hospitals from large surges, but also to protect all of us. We will continue to need care for heart disease, diabetes, cancer. We will have accidents and broken bones, and all of these patients, all of us, will need care, comfort and healing.


29. Our ICU staff have been stretched to their limit in the last two weeks. At its peak, we had 171 COVID-19 cases in the ICU, but the situation has eased a little. Today this has come down to 130. The booster doses have helped in reducing severe illnesses among vaccinated seniors, but the unvaccinated continue to be at risk. This is why we continue to monitor the situation very closely, especially the number of unvaccinated seniors who get infected. Every day, there are about 60 of them, and 6 are likely to end up in the ICU. We need to keep this group as small as possible, to ensure everyone who needs care can receive it.


COVID-19 Deaths and Severe Cases

30. Thankfully, because of our high vaccination coverage, almost all cases, about 99%, have had no or mild symptoms. We have also managed to keep our fatalities very low. But sadly, we have seen 407 deaths so far. Each death is a tragedy, and a loss felt by the family, the patient’s loved ones, and the care team. Of these, 395 of them passed away in a hospital, 8 at home and 4 at a care facility. The number of deaths has increased in the past two months as the overall number of cases increased.


31. Seniors who are unvaccinated and have underlying medical conditions are at much greater risk of severe illness and death. Close to 95% of those who died in the last six months were seniors aged 60 and above. 72% of all deceased cases had not been fully vaccinated. Almost all of the remaining 28% who were fully vaccinated, suffered from underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and heart, lung or kidney diseases. Underlying conditions add risks, even if the conditions are well controlled before the patient encounters COVID19, especially if the patient is elderly.


32. There is not yet conclusive information about the long-term health consequences of COVID-19. An NCID study found that one in ten COVID-19 patients who recovered after the initial infection continued to display symptoms such as coughing or breathlessness 6 months after recovering from the acute illness. A study conducted in the UK found that those who are vaccinated are half as likely to continue having symptoms about a month after COVID-19 infection as compared to those who are unvaccinated.


33. While most of our cases recover fully from COVID-19, we do see instances of re-infection. Up to mid-August, we had detected 32 re-infected cases, and all of them were unvaccinated.


34. The risks of being unvaccinated are high. Compared to the vaccinated, someone who is 60 years old and above and unvaccinated, is 6 times more likely to need oxygen, 8 times more likely to become critically ill and need the ICU, and 17 times more likely to die.


35. So far, we have had one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. At the beginning it was because we had such tight restrictions, rapid contact tracing, and a low total number of cases in the community, but with cases rising fast, the case fatality rate remains low now because we have reached such a high vaccination rate, and because all those who have become sick have been able to receive the care that they need. Our healthcare system is stressed, but it has not been overwhelmed, unlike many countries last year, where patients had to be turned away and doctors had to choose amongst many patients whom to save.


36. These other countries experienced what is known as excess mortality, as the pandemic spread rapidly through the population and hospitals were overwhelmed. Excess mortality is when a lot more people die in a year than you expect.


37. We are trying very hard to avoid that. By keeping restrictions tight last year when our population was vulnerable to the disease, and then cautiously opening up after we vaccinated the vast majority of our population. Even then, we have to accept there will be some deaths. Our goal is to make sure that there are no significant excess deaths, as a result of an inability to provide adequate medical care. So far that is something that we have been able to do, and that we want to keep doing.


38. Up until recently we kept the absolute number of deaths small by ensuring both that few people caught COVID-19 and also that those who were infected got good treatment and care. Now that we have to live with COVID-19, we will continue to protect people from getting infected through vaccination and Safe Management Measures, but this protection is not complete. And that is why much larger numbers will get infected. But we will continue to make sure that those who are infected get good treatment and care, and so keep the death rate from COVID-19 as low as possible. Hence we are doing everything we can to expand our ICU capacity and protect the healthcare system.


39. These efforts have succeeded – our death rate is 0.2%, compared to 3% or more in countries that experienced a surge in cases before vaccination. This rate of 0.2% is comparable to catching pneumonia, pre-COVID. But it does mean that over time the absolute number of deaths from COVID-19 will rise despite the best possible medical care, and we could perhaps have 2,000 deaths per year from COVID-19. Most of these will be the elderly and those who are already unwell.


40. In comparison every year, in peacetime, pre-covid, about 4,000 patients pass on as a result of influenza, viral pneumonias, and other respiratory diseases. These are also mostly the elderly and the unwell. That is why we keep emphasising the importance of vaccination and boosters. We must make sure that everyone who is infected with COVID-19 will receive proper medical care by our healthcare workers and hospital system, and be given the best chance to fight the disease.


Conclusion

41. We have got to this point in our fight against COVID19 without excess mortality. We have managed to continue to provide excellent healthcare for all COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. I am extremely proud of my colleagues, co-workers and friends who man the wards, clinics, and many other sites where they perform their duties. And we should place a high value on maintaining this standard.


42. What we are trying to do has not yet been done by any other country. We are trying to get to the point where the combination of high vaccination rates, booster jabs and even more boosting from mild infections means that COVID 19 will no longer spread as an epidemic in Singapore. And we are trying to get there without excess mortality – in other words, though we will have fatalities as a result of COVID-19, we will not see more overall deaths that we would in a normal non-COVID year. Nearly every other country that has arrived at that destination has paid a high price, in lives.


43. I hope my explanation has helped members understand why although we say we are living with COVID-19, we cannot just open up, and risk having the number of cases shoot up. Because more and more cases will translate into more and more ICU beds used, and beyond a certain point that will force us to accept a lower standard of care, and hence have more deaths that could have been prevented. Despite our best efforts events may overtake us, and we may have no choice in the matter. If despite our caution, ICU cases rise sharply, we will still do our very best to look after every patient. But at what level of care? I would strongly prefer if we can avoid that dreadful scenario. We need to continue to manage the overall number of cases in our population, even as we continue to increase our hospital capacity.


44. In all of this there is hope. The main reason why we got to this point in the fight with COVID-19 with such low mortality rates is our people. Across all sectors, everyone has given their all, together with an ongoing commitment to excellence in service.


45. MOH and the Healthcare teams will continue to train staff, increase beds and expand ICU capacity. My MOH colleagues and I will keep working directly with the ICU directors and clinical leads to help them. They know better than me how to manage their patients, to provide clinical care, but they need support, resources, and policies that allow them to optimise outcomes. We will help to look after them, and their staff.


46. All of us can continue to play our part. Vaccination remains critical, every single extra person who gets vaccinated makes a difference, to themselves and for all of us. Getting your booster shot as soon as you are eligible makes a difference. Following the Safe Management Measures makes a difference. Regular testing makes a difference. Using the right healthcare resources appropriately makes a difference.


47. The current situation will not last forever. We will eventually come out of this. Eventually enough of us will be vaccinated or will have been infected, that we will see the case numbers come down and the situation stabilise. But in getting there we should try to keep the number of deaths as low as possible.

48. That we got to this point, where after nearly two years of fighting a pandemic I can explain our hope to maintain one of the lowest case fatality rates in the world is a small miracle. It did not happen by chance. It happened because Singaporeans stood together, looked out for each other, did their duty, and put the interests of others ahead of their own. And the healthcare workers of Singapore have done all this and much much more, caring for us all.


49. I received another message from a colleague: “We are one of the few countries in the world where ICU teams don’t have to worry about resources and equipment – very grateful for that. Healthcare workers have given everything in the last two years, we have held ourselves up to the highest standards, we have the lowest mortality in the world. Our people are still pushing on.”


50. The healthcare workers we are worried about, are also the same healthcare workers who are committed to doing what is needed to look after all their patients. They will do their duty, do their best and try their hardest. Words will never be enough, but I express our gratitude on behalf of this House. Thank you.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 2 November 2021:

Summary of local situation 1,710 cases remain warded in hospital. 308 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 74 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 64 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.7%. Over the last 28 days, of the 94,388 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died. As of 1 November 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 16% has received boosters. Over the past day, 3,006 cases were discharged, of whom 472 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 3,496 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 3,352 in the community, 141 in the migrant worker dormitories and 3 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 1.09.

Situation at Hospitals

1. As of 2 November 2021, 308 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 74 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 64 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.7%.

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, 0.2% 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 1 November 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 16% 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 0.5 and 4.5 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 0.8 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 1.9 and 35.6 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 7.6 respectively.

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




Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6. Over the past day, 3,006 cases were discharged, of whom 472 are seniors aged 60 and above.

7. As of 2 November 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,496 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, comprising 3,352 community cases, 141 dormitory resident cases and 3 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 538 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 1.09.

8. 9 more cases, aged between 53 and 93 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All of them, except for 2 unvaccinated individuals, had various underlying medical conditions.

Figure 5: Number of Community Cases by Age



Figure 6: Weekly Infection Growth Rate4



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

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total5​	Remarks​
NTUC Health Nursing Home (Geylang East)	4​	11​	Transmission amongst residents.
Jamiyah Home for the Aged (Tampines)	2​	47​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 47 cases, 6 are staff and 41 are residents.
Acacia Home	1​	23​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 23 cases, 2 are staff and 21 are residents.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	3​	90​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 90 cases, 1 is a staff, and 89 are residents.
Institute of Mental Health	9​	287​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 287 cases, 16 are staff and 271 are patients.
AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens	1​	86​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 86 cases, 2 are staff and 84 are residents.
St Luke’s Hospital	1​	21​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 21 cases, 4 are staff and 17 are patients.

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

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 3 November 2021:

Summary of local situation 1,665 cases remain warded in hospital. 293 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 72 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 69 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.7%. Over the last 28 days, of the 94,457 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.7% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died. As of 2 November 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 16% has received boosters. Over the past day, 3,340 cases were discharged, of whom 475 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 3,635 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 3,223 in the community, 409 in the migrant worker dormitories and 3 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 0.96.

Situation at Hospitals

1. As of 3 November 2021, 293 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 72 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 69 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.7%.

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, 0.7% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.2% 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 Condition2



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 2 November 2021, 84% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 16% 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 0.5 and 4.5 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 0.9 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 1.8 and 36.0 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.4 and 8.9 respectively.

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





Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6. Over the past day, 3,340 cases were discharged, of whom 475 are seniors aged 60 and above.

7. As of 3 November 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,635 new cases of COVID-19 infection, comprising 3,223 community cases, 409 dormitory resident cases and 3 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 535 seniors who are aged 60 and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 0.96.

8. 12 more cases, aged between 59 and 99 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 clusters listed below, which have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster	New Cases	Total5	Remarks
Growing Learners Student Care	4	15	Transmission amongst students. Of the 15 cases, 11 are students and 4 are household contacts of cases.
NTUC Health (Jurong West) Nursing Home	1	21	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 21 cases, 5 are staff and 16 are residents.
Maple Bear Loyang	1	27	Transmission amongst staff and students. Of the 27 cases, 3 are staff, 15 are students and 9 are household contacts of cases.
PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85	4	23	Transmission amongst students. Of the 23 cases, 14 are students and 9 are household contacts of cases.
NTUC Health Nursing Home (Geylang East)	1	12	Transmission amongst residents.
Jamiyah Home for the Aged (Tampines)	1	48	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 48 cases, 6 are staff and 42 are residents.
Acacia Home	2	25	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 25 cases, 2 are staff and 23 are residents.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	2	93	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 93 cases, 1 is a staff, and 92 are residents.
Institute of Mental Health	7	294	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 294 cases, 16 are staff and 278 are patients.

10. Please refer to MOH's daily Situation Report (http://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report) for details.


MINISTRY OF HEALTH
3 NOVEMBER 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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 4 November 2021:

Summary of local situation · 1,683 cases remain warded in hospital. 286 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 66 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 72 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 70.2%. · Over the last 28 days, of the 93,978 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.7% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died. · As of 3 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 17% has received boosters. · Over the past day, 5,087 cases were discharged, of whom 698 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 3,003 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 2,780 in the community, 220 in the migrant worker dormitories and 3 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 0.93.

Situation at Hospitals

1. As of 4 November 2021, 286 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 66 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 72 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 70.2%.

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, 0.7% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.2% 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 3 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 17% 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 0.5 and 4.7 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 0.9 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 1.8 and 37.4 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.4 and 8.2 respectively.

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


Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6. Over the past day, 5,087 cases were discharged, of whom 698 are seniors aged 60 years and above.

7. As of 4 November 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,003 new cases of COVID-19 infection, comprising 2,780 community cases, 220 dormitory resident cases and 3 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 471 seniors who are aged 60 years and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 0.93.

8. 17 more cases, aged between 55 and 93 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 clusters listed below, which have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total5​	Remarks​
NTUC Health (Jurong West) Nursing Home	1​	22​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 22 cases, 6 are staff and 16 are residents.
PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85	1​	24​	Transmission amongst students. Of the 24 cases, 14 are students and 10 are household contacts of cases.
NTUC Health Nursing Home (Geylang East)	1​	14​	Transmission amongst residents.
Jamiyah Home for the Aged (Tampines)	2​	50​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 50 cases, 7 are staff and 43 are residents.
Acacia Home	7​	32​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 32 cases, 2 are staff and 30 are residents.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	1​	94​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 94 cases, 1 is a staff, and 93 are residents.
Institute of Mental Health	9​	338​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 338 cases, 21 are staff and 317 are patients.
Orange Valley Nursing Home (Clementi)	1​	19​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 19 cases, 3 is a staff and 16 are residents.
PCF Sparkletots @ Changi Simei Block 141	1​	16​	Transmission amongst staff and students. Of the 16 cases, 2 are staff, 11 are students and 3 are household contacts of cases.
ECON Medicare Centre & Nursing Home (10 Buangkok View Block 9)	1​	35​	Transmission amongst residents.

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


MINISTRY OF HEALTH
4 NOVEMBER 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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 5 November 2021:

HONOURING OUTSTANDING EFFORTS OF HEALTHCARE STAFF AT THE NATIONAL MEDICAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2021​

Four individuals and two teams received the National Medical Excellence Awards (NMEA) this year, for excellence in the areas of care quality, patient safety, research, as well as education and training. Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health, gave out the awards at the NMEA ceremony held on 5 November 2021.



2. This annual national award recognises the efforts of outstanding clinicians, clinician scientists and other healthcare professionals for their contributions. It acknowledges their achievements in advancing healthcare, improving the standards of patient safety and driving research and education, which ultimately improve people's lives.



3. This year’s award recipients are:

Award Categories​	Awardee/s​	Healthcare Institution/Cluster​
National Outstanding Clinician Award	Professor Dale Fisher	National University Hospital (National University Health System)
National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award	Professor Chong Siow Ann	Institute of Mental Health (National Healthcare Group)
National Outstanding Clinician Mentor Award	Associate Professor Wong Kok Seng	SingHealth Community Hospitals (Singapore Health Services)
National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award	Professor Tan Hak Koon	KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (Singapore Health Services)
National Clinical Excellence Team Award	COVID-19 Research Workgroup Associate Professor David Lye Chien Boon Professor Lisa Ng Fong Poh Dr Barnaby Young Dr Chia Wan Ni	National Centre for Infectious Diseases (National Healthcare Group)
GPFIRST Programme Clinical Associate Professor Steven Lim Hoon Chin Clinical Associate Professor How Choon How Ms Priscilla Goh Dr Oh Hong Choon	Changi General Hospital (Singapore Health Services)

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
5 NOVEMBER 2021

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 5 November 2021:

COVID-19 HEALTHCARE AWARD TO RECOGNISE HEALTHCARE STAFF IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19​

To recognise their contribution and dedication in the COVID-19 pandemic, staff of publicly-funded healthcare organisations involved in the delivery of healthcare services in the fight against COVID-19 will receive a COVID-19 Healthcare Award of up to $4,000 each. This was announced by Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health, at the National Medical Excellence Awards (NMEA) ceremony today.

2. The healthcare system and healthcare staff have been under significant strain after over 20 months of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. While riding the transmission wave is a necessary process to living with COVID-19, the high number of cases has resulted in strong demand for healthcare services and very high workload in the public hospitals, including the intensive care units and emergency departments. As various sectors begin to resume their full operations and with society progressively restarting more activities, the healthcare sector continues to face intense pressure as the last line of defence.

3. The government has worked with the public healthcare institutions to provide their staff with an award of up to $4,000 each. It serves as a recognition of the contribution and dedication of healthcare staff throughout this fight. Altogether, about 100,000 staff from eligible publicly-funded healthcare organisations will receive the award, including staff from the public healthcare clusters – National Healthcare Group, National University Health System, and SingHealth.

4. The COVID-19 Healthcare Award will also be extended to publicly-funded Community Care Organisations (CCOs) that provide healthcare services. These include community hospitals that take in COVID-19 patients and nursing homes and dialysis centres that have expanded their capacity and worked tirelessly to keep vulnerable elderly in need of nursing care out of hospitals and free up hospital beds. These organisations have likewise been integral to our fight against COVID-19, alongside the public healthcare institutions. The Ministry of Health (MOH) will also extend a grant of $10,000 to each Public Health Preparedness Clinic (PHPC), in recognition of their contributions in the fight against COVID-19.

5. MOH, the Agency for Integrated Care and the public healthcare clusters are working through the implementation and more details will be communicated to eligible staff through the clusters and CCOs when ready. The Award will be given to staff of the public healthcare institutions in December, and to PHPCs and eligible staff of the CCOs in the first quarter of 2022.


MINISTRY OF HEALTH
5 NOVEMBER 2021

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 5 November 2021:

Summary of local situation



· 1,669 cases remain warded in hospital. 282 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 70 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 70 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 68.6%.



· Over the last 28 days, of the 92,147 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.7% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died.



· As of 4 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 17% has received boosters.



· Over the past day, 3,657 cases were discharged, of whom 528 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 1,767 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 1,639 in the community, 120 in the migrant worker dormitories and 8 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 0.81.



· The fall in the number of cases today is likely due to fewer swabs being done over the Deepavali Public Holiday at Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) and polyclinics. We remind those who feel unwell with acute respiratory infection symptoms not to delay seeking medical attention and getting tested. 8 Regional Screening Centres and 3 Quick Test Centres, offering free confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, are open on Saturdays and Sundays1.

SITUATION AT HOSPITALS​

1. As of 5 November 2021, 282 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 70 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 70 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 68.6%.

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, 0.7% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.2% 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 Condition2
​

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 Died3, by Age Groups
​

Vaccination

4. As of 4 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 85% has received at least one dose, and 17% 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 0.5 and 4.8 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 0.9 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 1.8 and 38.3 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 8.5 respectively.

Figure 4: 7-Day Moving Average of Number of Deaths and Active Cases in ICU, per 100,000 Population by Vaccination Status4
​

Inflow and Outflow of Cases

6. Over the past day, 3,657 cases were discharged, of whom 528 are seniors aged 60 years and above.

7. As of 5 November 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 1,767 new cases of COVID-19 infection, comprising 1,639 community cases, 120 dormitory resident cases and 8 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 284 seniors who are aged 60 years and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 0.81.

8. The fall in the number of cases today is likely due to fewer swabs being done over the Deepavali Public Holiday at Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) and polyclinics. We remind those who feel unwell with acute respiratory infection symptoms not to delay seeking medical attention and getting tested. 8 Regional Screening Centres and 3 Quick Test Centres, offering free confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, are open on Saturdays and Sundays5.

9. 9 more cases, aged between 67 and 85 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 Ratio6
​

10. We are closely monitoring the clusters listed below, which have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases​

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total7​	Remarks​
Growing Learners Student Care	1​	16​	Transmission amongst students. Of the 16 cases, 12 are students and 4 are household contacts of cases.
Jamiyah Home for the Aged (Tampines)	4​	54​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 54 cases, 9 are staff and 45 are residents.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	1​	95​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 95 cases, 1 is a staff and 94 are residents.
Institute of Mental Health	24​	365​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 365 cases, 24 are staff and 341 are patients.
Orange Valley Nursing Home (Clementi)	4​	26​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 26 cases, 3 are staff and 23 are residents.

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



MINISTRY OF HEALTH
5 NOVEMBER 2021


[1] Please refer to www.go.gov.sg/ari-weekend-testing for details.
[2] 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’.
[3] 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.
[4] Non-fully vaccinated comprises persons who are partially vaccinated and completely unvaccinated.
[5] Please refer to www.go.gov.sg/ari-weekend-testing for details.[6] Ratio of community cases in the past week over the week before.
[7] Includes new cases added today.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 5 November 2021:

SPEECH BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH, AT THE NATIONAL MEDICAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2021 ON 5 NOVEMBER 2021​

National Medical Excellence Awards winners,



Distinguished colleagues and guests,



Ladies and gentlemen,



1. I am happy to join you this evening at the 13th National Medical Excellence Awards (NMEA) Ceremony.



Tribute and Recognition



2. Tonight, we are in the company of eminent award recipients, who have made significant contributions in the fields of clinical practice, research, mentoring, education and healthcare delivery. We are also in the company of healthcare professionals who stand in daily solidarity with all their colleagues and fellow officers in the frontline of the pandemic.



3. Over the past few months, Singapore has entered cautiously into a phase which others have not gone before. It is time of trepidation, frustration even, but also of hope. We have seen thousands of cases a day, and we have mourned every death. This weight of living with COVID-19 has not been lightly borne.



4. But Singapore did not go through the massive loss of human lives suffered by many other countries who had opened up before us. This is because we protected each other from COVID-19 for the whole of last year and the large part of this year - through contact tracing, quarantine, tighter border measures and safe management measures.



5. Each one of us took steps to curtail our own freedoms, reduce our socialisation, and make the necessary sacrifices. We only started to gradually open up our society and economy a few months ago, when most of us had been vaccinated.



6. Because of this unique approach, we have one of the lowest death rates in the world. Our collective effort turned on a single fulcrum - our frontline of defence who shielded the population from the virus. They are contact tracers, case managers, drivers and call operators; they are the steadfast officers who run swab operations, vaccination operations, and essential services. They are those who stayed at their post when we went into Circuit Breaker last year. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to them.



7. Today, in a different phase of the pandemic, our most intense battlefront is in healthcare. Doctors and nurses do their best every day, to take care of every patient, and save every life. But sometimes, even their best is not enough. Every loss is immeasurably hard, for the family members, the loved ones, and for every doctor and every nurse. The physical labour is hard enough - the emotional labour even more so.



8. In recent weeks, the stress level went up several notches, as the transmission wave sustained at a high level, with more patients falling seriously ill and needing intensive care unit (ICU) care.



9. In response, our public hospitals had to set up more isolation and ICU beds. We had to embark on satellite operations in COVID-19 Treatment Facilities. There are nurses and doctors and other staff who were redeployed, who had to learn new skills on the go, and stretch their already long working hours even longer. Some healthcare workers have not gone back to their home countries to see their families for over a year.



10. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is now part of your daily work uniform. And for a long time, everyone lived with the uncertainty of colleagues or themselves being quarantined. When that happened, further challenges were layered upon an already stressful situation. I hope that is now behind us with new healthcare protocols.



11. This work is not for the faint-hearted. I have seen, with some anger and some shame, the disgraceful behaviour of those who shun nurses and healthcare workers, who turn away from you near your homes, who refuse your journeys. But I know every one of us in this room, and the great majority of our society deeply appreciates your work. I stand with the many students and children in our schools, writing heartfelt letters and drawing delightful cards, to thank you, and to tell you that you are their heroes.



12. The frontline stands between the virus and us. You are our last line of defence - standing between us and the abyss. When vaccination, safe management, therapeutics and the patient’s last bodily resistance are all breached, you still refuse to yield. You stand next to the patient as his last hope.



13. For your courage and invaluable work during the pandemic, the Ministry of Health will be conferring a COVID-19 Healthcare Award to our healthcare workers. The award – amounting to $4,000 – will be conferred to three groups:



· First, all staff of public healthcare institutions, such as acute hospitals, community hospitals and polyclinics;



· Second, staff from community care organisations that deliver frontline healthcare services, such as in nursing homes;



· Third, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will also award a grant of $10,000 to each of our Public Health Preparedness Clinics, which served as the first port of call for COVID-19 patients, to be shared amongst the staff of the clinics.



14. In total, about 100,000 staff will receive the award. Details will be shared by MOH through a press release. I know a monetary award does not fully reflect the contribution of healthcare workers, neither is it the main motivator of a healthcare worker. But it is an appropriate thing for MOH to do, to recognise your contribution in this very exceptional year.



15. This pandemic may seem like an endless night. But no transmission wave lasts forever, and with each passing day, our societal antibodies are rising, our collective resistance is stronger, and we move closer to living with COVID-19, with fewer infections, and fewer people falling very sick. Soon, the dark will turn to light.



Innovation and Excellence



16. Let me now talk about another special group of people in our healthcare sector – the award winners tonight. This is the story of the advancement of healthcare and the strive towards medical excellence in Singapore.



17. For this year’s ceremony, we will be honouring a total of nine individuals and three teams, who will be receiving the 2020 and 2021 National Medical Excellence Awards. You have seen the video of all their achievements. They are all great examples of the spirit of excellence and innovation in healthcare.



18. I won’t be able to recount all their achievements. We have Associate Professor Sum Chee Fang and Professor Dale Fisher, who are renowned leaders in their respective areas. Chee Fang plays a key role in the strategic management of diabetes in Singapore; and Dale has been doing frontier work on infectious diseases prevention and control, including significantly reducing the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection rates across Singapore hospitals.



19. There are Professor Yong Eu Leong and Professor Chong Siow Ann, who are Singapore’s leading medical researchers. Each of them has devoted over 30 years of their career in clinical practice and research. Eu Leong pushed the frontiers of knowledge in the areas of women’s health and human fertility and Siow Ann is a pioneer in championing mental health and wellness that shaped our national policies and programmes.



20. We also have Associate Professor Keson Tan who is passionate about the teaching and mentoring of dental students as well as expanding the field of knowledge in Prosthodontics. Associate Professor Wong Kok Seng plays a pivotal role in providing medical leadership, mentorship and policy oversight to a young team at the SingHealth Community Hospital.



21. We are also honouring team efforts. There is the GPFirst programme, which started as a collaboration between Changi General Hospital and GPs of the eastern part of Singapore, with the intent of gradually changing the healthcare-seeking behaviour of patients, and allowing Accident and Emergency (A&E) services to be channelled towards higher-level care and emergency cases.



Transformation and the Future



22. The National Medical Excellence Award is one of the most important events in the MOH calendar. This is because innovation and transformation will be the lifeblood of the healthcare sector in the coming decade, for it will be a disruptive and tumultuous ten years.



23. We need to fundamentally rethink the way we deliver healthcare. One major disruption is the ageing population which will drive healthcare expenditure to increase from about $25 billion today to $60 billion by 2030 if we did nothing. More than double. There is even a risk that may not be able to fiscally afford healthcare expenditure as taxation may not be able to keep up.



24. We must therefore shift the emphasis of healthcare. Devote some resources early to help people stay healthy and prevent sickness, instead of expending intensive resources later for treating them when they become very sick.



25. We also need to rethink where and how healthcare is delivered. We have started to shift the centre of gravity away from acute hospitals, to caring for patients within the community. Since 2017, we have been proliferating Community Nursing, Hospital-to-Home and Outpatient-to-Community initiatives. These are important ground innovations.



26. Technology and science will also offer us solutions. We are revamping the IT backbone of our healthcare system, to have an integrated system that capture the data of patients, across all healthcare settings. Upon this foundation, AI can be used to gain insights to population health, improve quality of clinical care, and nudge individuals to adopt healthier living habits.



27. We will also need to continue to find innovative solutions to battle COVID-19 and future pandemics. COVID-19 has pushed us to go far beyond our SARS playbook. We have to set up alternate care facilities, roll out a comprehensive contact tracing system through TraceTogether and SafeEntry, support the great majority of patients through Home Recovery Programme and Telemedicine.



28. COVID-19 has turbo-charged the innovation process in healthcare. We will build upon these capabilities further and make them part of our healthcare transformation.



29. Today, I paid tribute to the frontliners and healthcare workers, because there is no tomorrow to worry about, if there is no victory against COVID-19 today. Yet there is no meaning to victory today, only to lose to sickness and poor health tomorrow.



30. So we must make innovation and transformation our top priority in healthcare. Today, we see its key ingredients – talented people working together; the spirit of continuous learning and teaching, change, and improvement; and undergirding it all, the values of public service, dedication and professionalism even in the darkest of times.



31. As Minister for Health, it has been a true honour to work alongside with you. Thank you.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 6 November 2021:

Summary of local situation 1,666 cases remain warded in hospital. 299 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 65 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 74 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.8%. Over the last 28 days, of the 91,476 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died. As of 5 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 86% has received at least one dose, and 17% has received boosters. Over the past day, 3,871 cases were discharged, of whom 550 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 3,035 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 2,928 in the community, 102 in the migrant worker dormitories and 5 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 0.83.

Situation at Hospitals

1. As of 6 November 2021, 299 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 65 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 74 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 72.8%.

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, 0.2% 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 5 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 86% has received at least one dose, and 17% 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 0.5 and 5.1 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 0.8 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 1.7 and 41.3 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 8.3 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, 3,871 cases were discharged, of whom 550 are seniors aged 60 years and above.

7. As of 6 November 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 3,035 new cases of COVID-19 infection, comprising 2,928 community cases, 102 dormitory resident cases and 5 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 501 seniors who are aged 60 years and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 0.83.

8. 12 more cases, aged between 60 and 98 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 clusters listed below, which have already been ringfenced through tracing, testing and isolation.

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster	New Cases	Total5	Remarks
Jamiyah Home for the Aged (Tampines)	5	59	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 59 cases, 9 are staff and 50 are residents.
Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village	1	96	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 96 cases, 1 is a staff and 95 are residents.
Institute of Mental Health	8	374	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 374 cases, 24 are staff and 350 are patients.
ECON Medicare Centre & Nursing Home (10 Buangkok View Block 9)	1	36	Transmission amongst residents.
NTUC Health Nursing Home (Geylang East)	3	17	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 17 cases, 1 is a staff and 16 are residents.

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


MINISTRY OF HEALTH
6 NOVEMBER 2021

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[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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 6 November 2021:

MEDIA STATEMENT ON PAEDIATRIC MIS-C CASES IN SINGAPORE​

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has been notified of four cases of paediatric Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) to date. These four cases were amongst the over 8,000 paediatric COVID-19 cases in Singapore since the start of the pandemic, and considered rare. Of these four cases, one is in the Children’s Intensive Care Unit (CICU), one is in a General Ward, and two have been discharged.

2. The four cases are:

a. A three-year-old boy admitted to the National University Hospital (NUH) CICU on 16 October 2021. He had repeatedly tested PCR-negative, but his serology test results indicated that he likely had a COVID-19 infection two to six weeks prior to the development of MIS-C. He has since recovered and was discharged on 23 October.

b. An eight-year-old boy admitted to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s (KKH) CICU on 27 October 2021. He had been previously diagnosed with COVID-19 infection on 30 September. He has since recovered and was discharged on 1 November.

c. A four-year-old boy admitted to KKH CICU on 1 November 2021. As of 6 November, the boy remains in the CICU and his breathing is supported by mechanical ventilation. He had previously tested positive for COVID-19 infection on 24 September. The KKH paediatric teams are actively managing his care.

d. A two-month-old female infant admitted to KKH General Ward on 3 November 2021. She was previously admitted to KKH for COVID-19 infection on 12 October, and discharged on 19 October. The patient’s condition remains stable, with no oxygen requirements.

3. In May 2020, an international review from 26 countries reported a MIS-C incidence of 0.14% (14 in 10,000) among all children with COVID-19 infection.

4. MIS-C is similar in presentation to Kawasaki Disease (KD) which has been linked to various virus or bacterial infections, and occurs in 150 to 200 children a year in Singapore. Symptoms of MIS-C include persistent fever above 38.5°C for three days or more, with difficulty breathing, headache, neck swelling, rash, swollen hands and feet, conjunctivitis, diarrhoea, or abdominal pain.

5. As MIS-C is linked to previous COVID-19 infection, measures such as mask wearing, hand hygiene, and safe distancing measures remain important to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 infection.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 7 November 2021:

Summary of local situation

• 1,654 cases remain warded in hospital. 296 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 70 are unstable and under close monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU), and 64 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 69.9%.
• Over the last 28 days, of the 91,217 infected individuals, 98.7% had no or mild symptoms, 0.8% required oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 0.3% were in the ICU, and 0.2% has died.
• As of 6 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 86% has received at least one dose, and 18% has received boosters.
• Over the past day, 2,926 cases were discharged, of whom 420 are seniors aged 60 years and above. 2,553 new cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, with 2,343 in the community, 205 in the migrant worker dormitories and 5 imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 0.81.

Situation at Hospitals

1. As of 7 November 2021, 296 cases require oxygen supplementation in the general ward, 70 are unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU to prevent further deterioration, and 64 are critically ill and intubated in the ICU. The current overall ICU utilisation rate is 69.9%.

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, 0.2% 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 2 by Age Groups


Vaccination

4. As of 6 November 2021, 85% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, 86% has received at least one dose, and 18% 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 0.5 and 5.1 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 0.9 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 1.8 and 42.3 respectively. The number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated seniors who died are 0.3 and 9.0 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, 2,926 cases were discharged, of whom 420 are seniors aged 60 years and above.

7. As of 7 November 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health has detected a total of 2,553 new cases of COVID-19 infection, comprising 2,343 community cases, 205 dormitory resident cases and 5 imported cases. Amongst the community cases today are 425 seniors who are aged 60 years and above. The ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before is 0.81.

8. 17 more cases, aged between 45 and 89 years, have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection. All of them had various underlying medical conditions, except for an 85 year-old vaccinated individual who had no known medical conditions.

Figure 5: Number of Community Cases by Age



Figure 6: Week-on-week Ratio4

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

Figure 7: Large Clusters with New Cases

Cluster​	New Cases​	Total5​	Remarks​
Jenaris Home @ Pelangi Village	2​	29​	Transmission amongst residents.
Surya Home	2​	16​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 16 cases, 3 are staff and 13 are residents.
MWS Nursing Home – Yew Tee	7​	10​	Transmission amongst residents.
Jamiyah Home for the Aged (Tampines)	1​	60​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 60 cases, 9 are staff and 51 are residents.
Institute of Mental Health	7​	389​	Transmission amongst staff and patients. Of the 389 cases,25 are staff and 364 are patients.
NTUC Health Nursing Home (Geylang East)	1​	18​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 18 cases, 1 is a staff and 17 are residents.
PCF Sparkletots @ Whampoa Block 85	1​	25​	Transmission amongst students. Of the 25 cases, 14 are students and 11 are household contacts of cases.
Acacia Home	9​	41​	Transmission amongst staff and residents. Of the 41 cases, 2 are staff and 39 are residents.

10. Please refer to MOH’s daily Situation Report (www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report) for details.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
7 NOVEMBER 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.

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 7 November 2021:

REMOVAL OF CONTENT FROM YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR VIOLATING COMMUNITY GUIDELINES​

A group called “Healing the Divide”, founded by a Ms Iris Koh, adopts an anti-vaccination stance and claims to warn people about the dangers of vaccination.


2. The Ministry of Health (MOH) notes that Iris Koh’s channel has a history of posting and sharing content that perpetuates falsehoods and misleading information about COVID-19 and vaccines. The Government takes a serious view of the deliberate communication of these falsehoods and will not hesitate to take action against those who put the public’s health and well-being at risk by spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines.

3. MOH therefore notes and welcomes the latest removal of content from the YouTube channel by Iris Koh, which includes “Town Hall Meeting: United We Stand For Choice”, and “Healing the Divide: Remembering Those We Love and Lost”, for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines. We also observe that Facebook has previously suspended Iris Koh’s account in more than one instance, for violating their Community Guidelines.

4. We advise members of the public not to speculate and/or spread misinformation which may cause public alarm, and to refer to credible sources of information instead.

5. Please visit www.moh.gov.sg for the latest information on COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccinations. For vaccine SAE statistics, please refer to HSA and its Safety Updates published monthly. For information regarding consumer safety, please visit www.hsa.gov.sg.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
7 NOVEMBER 2021

 

[jw5]

from MOH report 8 November 2021:

The Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced on 20 October 2021 the extension of the Stabilisation Phase for four weeks, through to 21 November 2021, with a mid-point review. Over the past fortnight, with everyone’s cooperation and the enhancement of collective immunity of our population, the growth in new COVID-19 cases has moderated. The week-on-week ratio of community cases has decreased and is now hovering around 0.8 to 1.0. While the total number of COVID-19 cases in hospitals and the intensive care unit (ICU) remains high, numbers are also stable.

2. Progress in vaccination and boosters has contributed immensely to the tempering of COVID-19 cases. However, those who are not fully vaccinated continue to disproportionately make up the bulk of severe and ICU cases, and impose a strain on our healthcare system. There remains a need to protect them. Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) will therefore remain a crucial prong of our re-opening strategy in the coming weeks.

3. With this backdrop, we will carefully ease some measures, while we continue to protect the most vulnerable in our society from the risk of COVID-19 infection.

4. First, we will allow up to five fully vaccinated persons from the same household to dine-in together at food and beverage (F&B) establishments that are able to administer comprehensive VDS checks.

5. Second, we will pilot the resumption of more activities for those who are fully vaccinated, starting with sports and selected MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) events, subject to the additional requirement of testing using Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kits, i.e. a “VDS+ART” protocol. This will allow higher-risk activities to resume safely. If successful, this protocol can be extended to other settings.

6. Third, we will take steps towards resuming more activities in schools, in preparation for the larger-scale safe resumption of co-curricular learning activities in the coming school year, as these are critical for the nurturing of well-rounded students. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will provide more details on this separately.

7. Finally, our experience to date with the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) has shown that we can open up air travel in a safe way. We will further simplify travel protocols to safely and seamlessly reconnect with the rest of the world.

8. Notwithstanding these adjustments, there remains a need to stay vigilant in our approach towards COVID-19. ICU utilisation has been hovering at around 70%. While this is still manageable by stretching our healthcare manpower, we must not let down our guard and must avoid a resurgence of cases that could once again threaten to overwhelm our healthcare system.

Updates on Local COVID-19 Situation and Healthcare Capacity

9. Daily case numbers have stabilised for around three weeks now. While cases have remained at more than 3,000 a day on average, close to 99% of cases continue to have mild or no symptoms and the vast majority are able to recover well at home. The proportion of patients who require oxygen supplementation has held steady at 0.8% of our total cases, and those who require ICU care at 0.3%, in the past 28 days. The number of cases in the ICU remains high but stable at around 140 cases, who occupy 70% of our current ICU bed capacity. We have been actively expanding the capacity of COVID-19 Treatment Facilities (CTFs) and Community Isolation Facilities (CIFs) over the past few weeks to take in COVID-19 patients who do not require acute care in hospitals.

Further Expansion of the Home Recovery Programme

10. We will expand the Home Recovery Programme (HRP) by lowering the minimum age for default home recovery, from 5 years to 3 years old starting from 10 November 2021. All children 3 years and older will be allowed to stay at home if their household environment is suitable. They will undergo a telemedicine assessment by a community or hospital paediatrician. Infants and children from 3 months old to under 3 years of age will also be allowed to recover at home, after they have been clinically assessed at hospitals to be suitable for home recovery. All infants under 3 months of age who are infected with COVID-19 will continue to be admitted to hospital.

Good Progress in Vaccinations and Boosters

11. Vaccinations and boosters continue to prove pivotal in safeguarding lives and our healthcare capacity amidst high case volumes, as they provide strong protection against infection and severe illness. To date, 85% of our population have completed their full primary series regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 18% have received boosters. We have been prioritising our outreach to encourage seniors to get vaccinated, as they are most vulnerable to serious illness if infected with COVID-19. Currently, 94% of seniors in the 60 to 69 age group and 90% of seniors aged 70 years and above have completed their full primary series regimen of COVID-19 vaccination, while 82% of eligible seniors aged 60 years and above have received boosters. We are heartened by the growing number of persons coming forward for their vaccinations and boosters, and strongly encourage everyone to do so as soon as they are eligible. This will help to keep you and your loved ones safe.

Expanding Vaccination Eligibility to Protect Our Children

12. The Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V) has noted that the Pfizer BioNTech/ Comirnaty vaccine has been approved by the US for use in those aged 5 to 11 years. EC19V is assessing the extension of vaccination to children aged 5 to 11 years in Singapore. This will confer on them protection against infection and severe illness, and better enable the resumption of a richer educational experience for our school children in 2022.

Further Bolstering Our Healthcare Capacity

13. Given the good progress in vaccinations and boosters, our National Vaccination Programme (NVP) has shifted to focusing on booster jabs. As vaccination capacity remains robust overall, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will be closing four more Vaccination Centres (VCs) on 1 December 2021. The healthcare staff currently working in these VCs can then be re-deployed to bolster our manpower needs in other areas, such as the COVID-19 Treatment Facilities.

14. These four VCs are Kebun Baru Community Club (CC), Potong Pasir CC, Taman Jurong CC and Geylang Serai CC. The last day for Dose One walk-ins at Kebun Baru CC and Potong Pasir CC was on 6 November 2021, while the last day for Dose One walk-ins at Taman Jurong CC and Geylang Serai CC will be on 9 November 2021. All four will continue to accept appointments for Dose Two and booster vaccinations until 30 November 2021.



COVID-19 Patients who are Unvaccinated by Choice to be Responsible for their Medical Bills

15. The Government is currently footing the full COVID-19 medical bills of all Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and Long-Term Pass Holders (SCs/PRs/LTPHs), other than for those who tested positive soon after returning from overseas travel. This was to avoid financial considerations adding to public uncertainty and concern when COVID-19 was an emergent and unfamiliar disease. For the majority who are vaccinated, this special approach for COVID-19 bills will continue until the COVID-19 situation is more stable.

16. Currently, unvaccinated persons make up a sizeable majority of those who require intensive inpatient care, and disproportionately contribute to the strain on our healthcare resources.

17. Hence, from 8 December 2021, we will begin charging COVID-19 patients who are unvaccinated by choice.[1] This will apply to all unvaccinated COVID-19 patients admitted on or after 8 December 2021 to hospitals and CTFs. COVID-19 medical bills for those who are ineligible for vaccination will still be fully paid for by the government, i.e. children under 12 years old or medically ineligible persons.

18. COVID-19 patients who are unvaccinated by choice may still tap on regular healthcare financing arrangements to pay for their bills where applicable – SCs and PRs may access regular Government subsidies and MediShield Life/ Integrated Shield Plan (MSHL/ IP) where applicable, while LTPHs may tap on their usual financing arrangements, such as private insurance.

Calibrated Adjustments of Safe Management Measures (SMMs)

Easing of Dine-In Restrictions for Households

19. From 10 November 2021, up to 5 fully vaccinated persons from the same household[2] will be allowed to dine in together at F&B establishments. Nevertheless, we urge households to continue to exercise care and restraint when dining out together, especially if there are elderly members staying in the household. The dine-in group size for those who qualify for VDS but are not from the same household will remain capped at 2.

20. For now, this easing will not be extended to hawker centres and coffee shops as they are unable to conduct comprehensive VDS checks of all their diners. We are prepared to extend the same concession to hawker centres and coffee shops once they have put in place additional control measures. The National Environment Agency (NEA) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) will be engaging the hawkers’ associations and coffee shop operators respectively on this matter. Further updates will be provided when ready.

21. Strict enforcement actions will be taken against any individuals who breach this rule by pretending to be from the same household as well as F&B outlets that do not implement the necessary checks. Errant individuals will be fined, and F&B outlets will be subject to immediate closures. These penalties will apply even for first-time offenders.

Music for F&B Establishments and Zone Sizes





22. We will also make several adjustments to existing SMMs from 10 November 2021, in order to better facilitate operations for businesses and workplaces. F&B establishments will be allowed to play soft recorded music from 10 November 2021, but live music and entertainment remain disallowed. Other measures include an increase in zone sizes for various event categories such as congregational worship and live performances, whilst keeping within overall attendance numbers. Details can be found in Annex A.





Expanding VDS to More Settings, and “VDS+ART” pilots

23. To better protect the unvaccinated who are at higher risk of infection and severe illness, we intend to expand VDS to more settings over time. As a start, MOH will also introduce VDS for residential care homes, given that this is a vulnerable setting where unvaccinated residents are likely to suffer worse outcomes than their vaccinated counterparts if they contract COVID-19. Measures will apply to areas like visitations and activities for residents. MOH will share more details when ready.

24. In addition, we will explore further easing of SMMs for settings which are able to enforce both VDS and pre-activity testing (“VDS+ART”). Under this regime, all participants will need to be fully vaccinated and will be required to produce a valid negative ART result on-site prior to the activity. We will begin with pilots in sports settings, to allow the resumption of team sports for a group of up to 10 fully vaccinated persons (including players, umpires, linesmen, etc.) to play together in controlled and supervised settings at suitable ActiveSG sports centres and PA community clubs from 10 November 2021. Please refer to SportSG’s advisory for more details.

25. We will also pilot the use of “VDS+ART” at selected mass sporting events as well as selected MICE events, where we will allow some easing of the SMMs. If successful, we can expand such pilots to additional settings.

VDS Concession for Medically Ineligible Individuals

26. We are taking a stronger stance against those who choose not to be vaccinated, be it through the VDS, or by requiring them to pay for their medical bills. But we recognise that there are a few individuals who are medically ineligible for all COVID-19 vaccines under the National Vaccination Programme (NVP). As earlier announced by the MTF, these individuals will be exempted from the VDS.

27. This VDS concession for medically ineligible individuals will take effect from 1 December 2021. From 15 November 2021, such individuals can visit any General Practitioner (GP) clinic, or public or private healthcare institution to be certified as medically ineligible, subject to meeting the revised criteria articulated in Annex B. They will be issued with a standard paper memo, which should be presented along with a government-issued photo identification card to be exempted from VDS. Please refer to Annex C for a list of settings with VDS.

28. MOH is also working with GovTech to reflect the medical ineligibility status in individuals’ TraceTogether App, so that they are able to pass through TraceTogether/ Safe Entry check-in systems at VDS venues without needing to show the paper memo. MOH will separately update healthcare establishments on the certification process.

29. While we have extended a concession to those who are medically ineligible to be able to dine-in, enter malls and participate in activities where VDS is required, they remain unvaccinated and their risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 and/or becoming severely ill remains real and very high. We strongly encourage these individuals to minimise such activities and to use this concession judiciously.

Ongoing Updates to Border Measures





Review of Countries/ Regions Categories

30. As part of our regular review of the COVID-19 situation in countries/ regions, we have updated the list of countries/ regions in the various categories. Details are in Annex D. These will be effective for arrivals from 11 November 2021, 2359 hours.





Changes in Border Measures for Cat II/III Countries

31. We will be expanding the types of tests recognised as a valid Pre-Departure Test (PDT) for all travellers arriving in, or transiting through, Singapore from Category II/III countries/ regions (including travellers arriving via VTL). This is in alignment with the testing protocols we now have in place in Singapore. From 11 November 2021, 2359 hours, we will also accept a negative, professionally administered[3] ART result taken within 2 days[4] prior to departure as a valid PDT for travellers from these countries/ regions.





Extending Vaccinated Travel Lanes

32. We have launched VTLs with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States, and will be launching a joint VTL with the Republic of Korea (ROK) from 15 November 2021. Travellers under the VTLs need not be subject to Stay-Home Notice (SHN). Instead, they will be required to produce a negative PDT taken within two days prior to departure and undergo an on-arrival Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test.

33. We will launch a joint VTL with Malaysia for travel between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from 29 November 2021. Vaccinated Travel Pass applications for Short-Term Visitors and Long-Term Pass Holders will commence on 22 November 2021; returning Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who are fully vaccinated will not need to apply. Singapore and Malaysia are also in detailed discussion to launch a similar scheme for travel across the land links.

34. We will also extend the VTLs to Finland and Sweden from 29 November 2021, with applications for Short-Term Visitors and Long-Term Pass Holders commencing on 22 November 2021.

35. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore will provide more details nearer the date when applications are open.

Towards a COVID-19 Resilient Singapore





36. We thank everyone for your understanding and patience during the Stabilisation Phase. We will continue to adjust our measures progressively to prepare for a safe re-opening without compromising the well-being of the vulnerable members of our community. We seek everyone’s continued effort and cooperation to exercise social responsibility and comply with all the SMMs and VDS measures we have put in place. If you are eligible for vaccinations or boosters, do come forward to receive them. Test yourself regularly and follow the simplified health protocols if you test positive. This will ensure that our limited healthcare resources are effectively allocated to those in need, and pave the way to being a COVID-19 resilient nation.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
8 NOVEMBER 2021

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[1] We will not charge individuals who are partially vaccinated until 31 December 2021, to allow them time to be fully vaccinated. From 1 January 2022, only SC/PR/LTPH COVID-19 patients who are fully vaccinated and have not recently travelled will have their COVID-19 medical bills fully paid for by the Government.

[2] Including unvaccinated children 12 years old and below, in line with their eligibility for VDS.
[3] ART has to be performed by trained professionals (e.g. medical professionals, Government-recognised trained professionals, etc.)
[4] For example, if the PDT is taken on 1 November 2021, it will be valid for departures (for air/ sea checkpoints) or arrivals (for land checkpoint) up to 3 November 2021, 2359 hours.