1,650 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore on Sept 24; 3 elderly men die

SINGAPORE - A total of 1,650 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Singapore on Friday (Sept 24), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update.

Three seniors with a host of health problems - of whom two were vaccinated - have died of Covid-19 complications, taking the death toll here to 73.

The latest daily total is the highest since the pandemic began, up from the previous record of 1,504 cases reported on Thursday.

This is also the fourth day in a row that the number of cases has surpassed 1,000.

Of the local cases on Friday, 1,369 were in the community and 277 cases were among dormitory residents, said MOH. Of these, 391 are seniors above 60 years old.

The remaining four cases were imported.

The three deaths on Friday were Singaporean men.

The first, a 83-year-old man who was vaccinated, had a history of diabetes, restrictive lung disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

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Together with his advanced age, his medical history made him more susceptible to severe illness, said MOH.

The second man who was vaccinated was aged 86. He had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischaemic heart disease, damaged airways and high blood pressure. His advanced age again made him more susceptible to severe illness, MOH added.

The last death is a 79-year-old man who had not been vaccinated and had a history of pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Graves' disease, hypertension and high cholesterol. Graves' disease is an illness affecting the immune system. 

The number of Covid-19 related deaths in September so far stands at 18 - which was the total number for August.

Another 95 children under 12 have been infected with Covid-19, said MOH on Friday.

Since Sept 17, there have been 582 Covid-19 new cases involving this age group.

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The total tally of Covid-19 infections in Singapore now stands at 84,510.

Currently, 1,092 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, down from 1,120 the day before.

There are 162 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, down from 163 the day before.

There are also 23 in critical condition in the intensive care unit, the same as Thursday.

Of the patients who have fallen very ill, 151 are seniors above the age of 60.

Singapore can expect to hit 3,200 new cases daily by next week if the current trend continues.

On Friday, the multi-ministerial task force announced new curbs - that will last a month - to slow the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases.

Read the full MOH press release here.