Like it or not, this is inevitable.
Worldwide, the fatality rate is about 3.4%, which might not be accurate as there might be many undetected cases.
Here in Singapore, as of yesterday whereby we had 802 cases and 2 deaths, the fatality rate is at 0.25% – it could have been low due to our aggressive detection method and high-quality healthcare system, but it’s inevitable that deaths would occur.
The first two COVID-19 deaths occurred about a week ago, on 21 March 2020, whereby a 75-year-old Singaporean and a 64-year-old Indonesian passed away on that fateful Saturday morning.
Today (29 March 2020), MOH reported another death.
3rd COVID-19 Death Reported Today: It’s a 70YO S’porean With Hypertension & Hyperlipidaemia
The third COVID-19 death in Singapore is a 70 year-old male Singaporean with no recent travel history to affected countries and regions.
He has passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection today at 12.12pm.
The man was admitted to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on 29 February, and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 2 March.
Since then, he had been warded in the intensive care unit (ICU). He developed serious complications and eventually succumbed to the infection after 27 days in the ICU.
He has a history of hypertension (high blood pressure) and hyperlipidaemia (high cholesterol).
SGH has reached out to his family and is extending assistance to them.
As of yesterday, there were 19 people in ICU, and 802 confirmed cases, with 198 of them being fully recovered and discharged.
According to previous statistics (which might not be 100% accurate since there would be undetected cases and new developments) which we can use as a guide, the fatality rate for people increases as they get older:
In addition, people who have underlying health conditions, in particular high blood pressure or diabetes, are at a higher risk:
In the meantime, keep yourself updated by bookmarking MOH’s website here and registering for the Gov.sg’s WhatsApp service here.