UPDATE ON LOCAL COVID-19 SITUATION AND VACCINATION PROGRESS (24 AUGUST 2021)

Summary of local situation 

• As of 24 August 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified that there are 111 cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection and 5 imported cases. 

• 24 of the cases are linked to the North Coast Lodge cluster. The testing operations at the dormitory have completed, and all the results have come back. In all, more than 5,300 residents were swabbed over the past 3 days.

• 339 cases are currently warded in hospital. Most are well and under observation. There are currently 20 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 8.7%, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.6%.

• As of 23 August 2021, 78% 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 23 August 2021, we have administered a total of 8,605,217 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme (Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty and Moderna), covering 4,482,282 individuals, with 4,251,555 individuals having completed the full vaccination regimen. 

2.    In addition, 160,649 doses of other vaccines recognised in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) have been administered as of 23 August 2021, covering 85,114 individuals. In total, 78% 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.    339 cases are currently warded in hospital. There are currently 20 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and 7 in critical condition in the ICU. Of those who have fallen very ill, 23 are seniors above 60 years, of whom 19 are completely unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.  

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

4.     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 8.7%, while that for the fully vaccinated is 1.6%. 

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

5.     There are 111 cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection today. 

6.    24 of the cases are linked to the North Coast Lodge cluster. The testing operations at the dormitory have completed, and all the results have come back. In all, more than 5,300 residents were swabbed over the past 3 days.

7.    Of the remaining 87 cases, 24 are linked to previous cases, and have already been placed on quarantine. 30 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance. 33 are currently unlinked.  

8.      There are 5 imported cases, who have already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. In total, there are 116 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

9.     Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 322 cases in the week before to 290 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 83 cases in the week before to 121 cases in the past week. The 7-day moving average number of all linked community cases and all unlinked community cases are 24.1 and 17.3 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

10.     There are a total of 5 imported cases. Of these, 4 were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while 2 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

11.     There are 3 new clusters today, and 3 clusters have closed. There are currently 70 clusters, ranging between 3 and 1,155 infections.

Figure 12: Number of Active Clusters

Figure 13: List of Active Clusters

Community surveillance testing for visitors to Bugis Junction

12.     MOH is investigating 20 cases of COVID-19 infection amongst individuals who work in Bugis Junction (200 Victoria Street). Staff who have been working in affected shops at Bugis Junction will be tested, and close contacts of confirmed cases will be quarantined. To uncover any community infection cases, we will also extend free COVID-19 testing to members of the public who had visited the retail shops or used the services/ facilities at Bugis Junction between 17 August and 24 August. Individuals who had only walked through the mall to connect to neighbouring buildings or Bugis MRT station need not be tested. Please refer to https://go.gov.sg/bugis-junction-testing for details on the testing operations.

13.       All visitors to Bugis Junction between 17 August and 24 August are advised to monitor their health closely, and minimise social interactions as far as possible, for 14 days from their date of visit. They are encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.

14.      Please refer to MOH’s daily Situation Report for details. 
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
24 AUGUST 2021

[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.