2 Singaporeans die of Covid-19 complications; Singapore's total death toll now stands at 52
Singapore has had a total of 52 deaths linked to Covid-19.
PHOTO: The Straits Times
PUBLISHED ONAugust 26, 2021 12:20 AMBYOsmond Chia
SINGAPORE - A partially vaccinated 86-year-old man and an unvaccinated 95-year-old woman have died from Covid-19 complications, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday night (Aug 25).
The man, who died on Tuesday, tested positive for Covid-19 infection on July 28.
He was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for an unrelated medical condition on July 1 and tested negative for the coronavirus multiple times.
MOH, in its daily Covid-19 update, said he had a history of cancer, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, heart disease, and hyperlipidaemia, or high levels of cholesterol.
The woman, who died on Wednesday, developed symptoms on Aug 5 and tested positive for the virus on Aug 9 after being admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. She had a history of Alzheimer's disease.
With these two deaths, 15 people have died in August from issues linked to Covid-19 infection, and Singapore's total death toll stands at 52.
There were a total of 118 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.
Of these, 38 new cases were added to the Bugis Junction cluster announced on Tuesday (Aug 23).
The cluster has 61 linked cases, 51 of whom are staff who work in Bugis Junction. And 46 of these staff are from BHG, while 10 are visitors to the mall.
BHG Bugis Junction will be closed for another five days until Aug 30, to break the potential chain of transmission and for deep cleaning of the premises.
Staff who have been working at the affected shops are being tested, and close contacts of confirmed cases will be quarantined, said MOH.
Free Covid-19 testing is being provided to members of the public who have visited shops or used facilities at the mall between Aug 17 and Aug 24.
BHG Bugis Junction will be closed for another five days until Aug 30, 2021. PHOTO: The Straits Times/Alphonsus Chern
Meanwhile, another 10 cases were added to the Selarang Halfway House cluster, which has a total of 19 cases.
Of these, 17 are inmates at the home, and two are household or workplace contacts of the inmates.
All staff and residents of the affected block have been tested for the virus, and all close contacts of cases and inmates living in the same block will be placed on quarantine, MOH said.
Another 26 cases were also added to the North Coast Lodge dormitory cluster, which now has a total of 112 infections.
On Wednesday, 29 unlinked cases were also reported.
There were also two imported cases who had already been placed on stay-home notice or isolated on arrival in Singapore.
Among the 120 new cases are two seniors aged above 70 who are unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. MOH said they are at risk of serious illness.
There are currently 350 cases hospitalised, 19 of whom have serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation. Seven are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Of those who have fallen very ill, 21 are seniors above 60, 17 of whom are completely unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 316 cases in the week before to 335 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 81 cases in the week before to 131 cases in the past week.
As at Monday, 78 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, while 82 per cent have received at least one dose.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
