Unvaccinated woman, 58, dies of Covid-19 complications

SINGAPORE - A 58-year-old Singaporean woman died on Monday (Aug 2) of Covid-19 complications. 

She had not been vaccinated and had no underlying medical conditions. 

The woman was confirmed on July 29 to have the virus and was a household contact of a patient who had visited Samy’s Curry Restaurant in Dempsey Road, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in an update on Wednesday night. 

This brings the number of deaths from the virus in Singapore to 39. 

A total of 95 new cases were confirmed on Wednesday. Of this number, 92 were locally transmitted, while three were imported.

Separately, free Covid-19 testing will be extended to anyone who visited Yuhua Market and Hawker Centre in Jurong East between July 21 and Wednesday. 

The ministry said it has detected seven cases among people who had worked in or visited the hawker centre, and that there is likely to be ongoing transmission there. 

The hawker centre will be closed from Thursday to Aug 19 for deep cleaning and to break the chain of transmission, said MOH.

“All individuals who work in the hawker centre have been placed in quarantine, and will be tested during quarantine,” it added. 

An MP for Jurong GRC, Mr Xie Yao Quan, urged residents from Blocks 301 to 316, 329 to 341, and 371 to 374 in Jurong East to look out for SMS alerts from MOH and to see a doctor if they develop symptoms. 

“I know Yuhua Hawker Centre is a popular spot for many of you... If you are not alerted, yet remain concerned, please consider antigen rapid test (ART) self-testing,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. 

The market will continue to operate while the hawker centre is closed for deep cleaning, said Jurong-Clementi Town Council. It added that it would help affected stallholders by waiving some of their fees during this period. 

MOH also said that there are now 112 active Covid-19 clusters, up from 100 on Tuesday. 

All 12 new clusters have between three and six patients each, and are not yet linked to specific locations. 

Nine more cases have been linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster, bringing its case total to 1,115, said MOH. The KTV cluster also added one new case, for a total of 252 cases. 

These are the two largest open clusters in Singapore.

Of the 555 cases hospitalised here, MOH said, there are 42 cases of serious illness and seven in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

There are 37 seniors above 60 years of age who have fallen very ill. Of this number, 31 are partially vaccinated or completely unvaccinated, said MOH.

Of the three imported cases, one was detected on arrival, while the other two developed the illness during stay-home-notice or isolation. 

Out of the 92 locally transmitted cases, 54 have been linked to previous ones and quarantined, while eight were linked but not yet under quarantine when tested.

Thirty cases are currently unlinked.

As at Monday, 64 per cent of the population have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine under the national vaccination programme, while 77 per cent have received at least one dose, said MOH.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.