A few days ago, the authorities announced that the tightened restrictions that were supposed to end on 24 Oct will be extended to 21 Nov instead.
Many people were understandably frustrated, but if you look at our case count every day, you can kind of see why.
Case numbers hovered around the 3,000 to 4,000 mark in recent days, which may seem manageable at this point.
But with such a large number of people testing positive every day, the number of cases succumbing to the disease will remain high, as a small portion who have underlying medical conditions or are unvaccinated are bound to pass away from the disease.
And sadly, many more people infected with COVID-19 died yesterday.
14 COVID-19 Fatalities
14 more COVID-19 cases passed away from complications, bringing our death toll to 294.
They were seven men and seven women, aged between 41 and 97.
One of the fatalities, a 41-year-old man, was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but was immunocompromised and had severe underlying lung disease.
Of the 13 others, seven were unvaccinated, one was partially vaccinated, and five were fully vaccinated.
All had various underlying medical conditions, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
3,637 New COVID-19 Cases
2,553 new COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday (18 Oct), an increase of 198 from the previous day’s tally.
The cases comprise 3,039 infections in the community, 592 in migrant worker dormitories, and six imported infections.
Among the local cases are 528 seniors above 60.
Welfare Home Added to List of Clusters Closely Monitored by MOH
The health ministry is closely monitoring five large clusters at present, including one at Banyang Home at Pelangi Village, which is a new addition.
The welfare home has 52 infections in total, comprising 51 residents and one staff member.
Two more cases were also added to the cluster at PCF Sparkletots @ Zhenghua (632A Senja Road), bringing its total to 19. 12 students, five employees, and two household contacts have been infected there.
The two largest clusters being monitored by MOH are at the Bukit Batok Home for the Aged and MWS Christalite Methodist Home, with 129 and 121 cases respectively.
The last cluster on the list, AWWA Community Home for Senior Citizens, doubled in size to 44 infections. All 44 cases are residents.
1,609 COVID-19 Cases in Hospital; 57 in ICU
At the moment, there are 1,609 COVID-19 cases warded in hospitals, most of whom are well and under observation.
338 serious cases require oxygen supplementation and 57 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
In addition, there are 17,766 cases undergoing home recovery, 4,645 in community care facilities and 921 are in COVID-19 treatment facilities.
Currently, 84% of our population has been fully vaccinated. 85% have received at least one dose.
Of those who have passed away over the last 28 days, 30.7% were fully vaccinated and 69.3% were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
Australia-Singapore Travel Bubble Could Be Established by Next Week
The only good news we got yesterday is that a travel bubble between Singapore and Australia could be set up as soon as next week.
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the two countries are in the final stages of establishing the travel arrangement.
Vaccinated students and business travellers will be allowed into the country first, followed by tourists.
However, since the states in Australia have different rules about quarantine restrictions, the “quarantine-free” part of the bubble may only apply to some states as first.
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