Sigh, looks like today brings more bad news.
As of 12pm today (11 May), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed 25 new cases of COVID-19 infection.
13 are community cases, and the remaining 12 are imported cases. Out of the 13 community cases, seven are linked to the Changi Airport cluster.
This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 61,403.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 59 cases in the week before to 32 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has increased from 9 cases in the week before to 10 cases in the past week.
Only Unlinked COVID-19 Case Reported on 10 May is a Cook at Mos Burger; 2 Others Linked to Airport Cluster
Yesterday (10 May), Singapore added 19 new COVID-19 cases to its tally, of which three were community infections. Out of these three, only one was unlinked.
The sole unlinked community case reported yesterday (10 May) is a 59-year-old cook at the Mos Burger outlet in Suntec City mall.
The Singaporean woman did not interact with customers at the fast-food outlet, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
The authorities were pretty fortunate to detect this woman’s infection as she was first taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) on Sunday (9 May) for an unrelated condition.
Despite not exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms, she was tested for the virus and the result came back positive.
The result of her serology test is pending, MOH said.
The other two community cases are linked to the cluster at Changi Airport, bringing the total tally in the airport to ten.
The first is a 44-year-old Singaporean who works in operations at Raffles Medical clinic in Changi Airport Terminal 3.
The other community infection is a 59-year-old Singaporean who works as an aviation security officer at Changi Airport Terminal 3. Employed by Certis Cisco, his job entails security screening at the departure hall.
According to MOH, both men had already completed their vaccination regimen.
The remaining 16 cases reported yesterday were all from abroad. All had been placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival here.
WHO Has Now Officially Labelled the India Variant of COVID-19 As A “Variant of Concern”
In other concerning news, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially classed the B.1.617 variant as a “variant of concern”, as cases in India continue to rise at an alarming rate.
The health agency said the new variant seemed to be spreading more easily, adding that there’s also some evidence of “reduced neutralisation”.
These factors have led the WHO to officially conclude that the Indian variant of the virus is enough of a threat to be dubbed a variant of concern (VOC).
Though data from early studies hinted at this “reduced neutralisation”, WHO had insisted then that it was insufficient to presume that vaccines were less effective at targeting this particular strain.
“Based on current data, the COVID-19 vaccines remain effective at preventing disease and death in people infected with this variant,” it had said.
Now, as a variant of concern, the Indian strain will be added to the list containing three other concerning variants, namely the ones in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa.
But it is important to note that even if a vaccine’s efficacy is reduced by a new strain, the vaccine can still protect against serious illness and death.
WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan urged people to get “whatever vaccine is available to them and that they are eligible for.”
To know more about why viruses mutate, watch this video to the end:
394 Active Cases
There are currently 135 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 3 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
259 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.
31 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.
Feature Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com (Image for illustration purpose only)
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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