Update on Local COVID-19 Situation and Vaccination Progress (20 August 2021)

Summary of local situation 

• As of 20 August 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified that there are 36 cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection and 4 imported cases. 

• 380 cases are currently warded in hospital. Most are well and under observation. There are currently 27 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and 7 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

• Over the last 28 days, the percentage of unvaccinated who became severely ill or died is 9.2%, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.7%.

• As of 19 August 2021, 77% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82% has received at least one dose.

Update on vaccination progress

As of 19 August 2021, we have administered a total of 8,526,565 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty and Moderna), covering 4,459,200 individuals, with 4,200,032 individuals having completed the full vaccination regimen. 

2. In addition, 154,936 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of 19 August 2021, covering 84,281 individuals. In total, 77% of our population has completed their full regimen/ received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and 82% has received at least one dose.

Figure 1: Percentage of Total Population who Received At Least First Dose¹ and Completed Full Regimen² of NVP and WHO EUL Vaccines³ 

Figure 2: Percentage of Vaccinated Individuals who Received At Least First Dose of NVP and WHO EUL Vaccines by Age Group

Figure 3: Percentage of Individuals who Completed Full Regimen of NVP and WHO EUL Vaccines by Age Group

Condition of hospitalised cases

3. 380 cases are currently warded in hospital. There are currently 27 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and 7 in critical condition in the ICU. Of those who have fallen very ill, 27 are seniors above 60 years, of whom 23 are completely unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.  

4. Case 67178, an 82 year-old male Singaporean, has passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection on 19 August 2021. He had developed symptoms on 30 July and was admitted to Alexandra Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 on 31 July. He had not been vaccinated against COVID-19, and had a history of ischaemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, cystic kidney disease and hypertension. In total, 47 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Figure 4: Number of Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation

Figure 5: Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, by Age Group

5. There is continuing evidence that almost all fully-vaccinated individuals do not suffer serious disease when infected, unless if they had underlying medical conditions that made them more susceptible. Over the last 28 days, the percentage of unvaccinated who became severely ill or died is 9.2%, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.7%. 

Figure 6: Local Cases in the Last 28 Days by Vaccination Status & Severity of Condition⁴ 

Figure 7: Deaths and Active Cases in ICU or Requiring Oxygen Supplementation, by Vaccination Status

Locally transmitted COVID-19 cases

6. There are 36 cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection today. 19 are linked to previous cases, and have already been placed on quarantine. 3 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance. 14 are currently unlinked.  

7. There are 4 imported cases, who have already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. In total, there are 40 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore today. 

Figure 8: Number of Local Unlinked Cases and Linked Cases by Already Quarantined/ Detected through Surveillance⁵  

Summary of trends for local cases

8. Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 380 cases in the week before to 281 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from 99 cases in the week before to 84 cases in the past week. The 7-day moving average number of all linked community cases and all unlinked community cases are 28.1 and 12.0 respectively.

Figure 9: 7 Day Moving Average Number of Community Unlinked and Linked Cases⁵

Figure 10: Local Cases in the Last 14 Days by Age Group and Vaccination Status

Summary of trends for imported cases

9. There are a total of 4 imported cases. Of these, 3 were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while 1 developed the illness during SHN or isolation. 

Figure 11: Number of Imported Cases by Detected Upon Arrival/ Detected during SHN or Isolation

Active clusters under monitoring

10. There are 2 new clusters today, and 9 clusters have closed. There are currently 77 active clusters, ranging between 3 and 1,155 infections.

Figure 12: Number of Active Clusters

Figure 13: List of Active Clusters

11. Please refer to MOH’s daily Situation Report for details.

[1] Based on National Immunisation Registry data. 

[2] Full regimen refers to individuals who have received both doses of the vaccine or one dose for vaccinated recovered individuals.

[3] Other vaccines recognised in the WHO EUL account for about 2% of the total population who received at least 1 dose and about 1% of total population who completed the full regimen.

[4] Fully vaccinated - more than 14 days after completing vaccination regimen (both doses of the vaccine or one dose for recovered individuals). Partially vaccinated – received 1 dose of 2-dose vaccine or COVID-positive within 14 days of completing vaccination regimen.

[5] Incorporates re-classifications of earlier reported cases.

[6] Includes new cases added today.