Around a month ago, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung revealed in a Facebook post that he feels anxious on Tuesdays because that’s when cases detected on Monday would be reported, and they would always spike after the weekend.
However, our daily caseload yesterday didn’t go up at all. It was sadly the number of fatalities that shot up.
18 COVID-19 Fatalities; Highest Daily Number in Nearly a Month
18 more COVID-19 cases succumbed to the virus, bringing our death toll to 612.
Aged between 67 and 95, all of them had various underlying medical conditions, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
This is the highest number of COVID-19 deaths reported in a day since 20 Oct, when 18 fatalities were reported as well.
2,069 New COVID-19 Cases
2,069 new COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday (16 Nov), the same number as the previous day’s tally.
The cases comprise 2,021 infections in the community, 43 in migrant worker dormitories, and five imported infections.
Among the local cases are 355 seniors above 60.
MOH Closely Monitoring Four Large Clusters
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is closely monitoring five large clusters with new cases, the largest of which is at Banyan Home @ Pelangi Village, with 103 infections. 102 residents and one staff member have been infected there.
Four cases each were added to the clusters at Iman Childcare at Woodgrove and at Carpe Diem @ ITE, taking their respective totals to 32 and 16.
21 students have been infected at the childcare centre, while 11 students have been infected at the ITE.
The last cluster, Jenaris Home @ Pelangi Village, swelled to 63 after 25 more cases were linked to it. 61 residents and two staff members have been infected there.
1,501 COVID-19 Cases in Hospital; 122 in ICU
At the moment, there are 1,501 COVID-19 cases warded in hospitals, most of whom are well and under observation.
234 serious cases require oxygen supplementation and 122 are in the intensive care unit, comprising 54 cases who are unstable and under close monitoring, and 68 who are critically ill and intubated.
Over the past seven days, the number of fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated cases who have been critically ill in the ICU are at 0.6 and 5.4 per 100,000 population respectively.
The same figures for seniors aged 60 and above are 2.0 and 48.1 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.
The same figures for seniors aged 60 and above are 0.3 and 10.1 respectively.
Currently, 85% of our population has been fully vaccinated and 86% have received at least one dose. 21% have received their booster shots.
Health Minister: Pfizer Vaccination With Moderna Booster Jab Offers “Slight Edge”
Speaking during a COVID-19 task force press conference on Monday, Mr Ong said that a combination of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination with a Moderna booster dose has a “slight edge” in reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection.
This reduces the risk by 72%, compared to the 62% protection provided when one takes a Pfizer-BioNTech booster jab after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination.
As for other combinations, the sample sizes are not large enough, meaning their results may not be “as meaningful”, he added.
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