Singapore – On a day when there were 18 more deaths from Covid-19, there was still room for “cautious optimism’, as the sages who deal with statistics might say.
For four days in a row, the number of new infections did not increase over the count for the previous week. That’s what it means when the “weekly infection growth rate” stays at 1 or below.
The bad news is that a total of 2,069 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported as of noon on Tuesday, which is 346 more than for the previous day.
As Singapore opens up, that number seems likely to increase. But it can still be kept manageable if people keep taking precautions and if vaccination holdouts can be persuaded to take their shots.
The 18 patients who died were between 67 and 95 years old and all had underlying medical conditions. The Health Ministry did not specify what these were but obesity and diabetes are among the common conditions that put Covid patients at particular risk.
The number of deaths is the highest daily toll since Oct 20, when 18 were also reported. This brings the national Covid-19 death toll to 612.
On Monday (Nov 15), announced that by the end of November, hawker centres and coffee shops will be allowed to have five fully-vaccinated members of the same household dine in.
The ministry is working with operators to implement vaccination-differentiated measures in hawker centres and coffee shops. Diners will need to check-in via SafeEntry.
Last week, the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) issued an update on the Covid-19 situation at Changi Prison Complex through a statement on its website on Thursday (Nov 11), after having said earlier this week that despite a high vaccination rate, several inmates had caught Covid-19 and more cases were ‘likely’ to emerge.
SPS SAID 169 INMATES, 54 SUPERVISEES AND NINE STAFF ARE CURRENTLY COVID-19 POSITIVE AND IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF RECOVERY.
No staff or inmates are in hospital but three supervisees have been warded because they show symptoms