3,155 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore reported on Jan 21, including 1,539 mild infections

The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 3,155 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Jan 21) in Singapore.

The surge in cases was due to the inclusion of Protocol 2 cases for the first time. Protocol 2 cases are individuals who tested positive but are well, or have been accessed by a doctor to have mild symptoms.

Among the new cases on Friday, 1,539 were Protocol 2 infections. Of these, 1,516 were local cases. 

The other 1,616 cases were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. This included 1,278 local cases and 338 imported cases.

In total, there were 2,794 local infections and 361 imported ones. 

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced on Friday that MOH will no longer differentiate between Omicron and non-Omicron cases.

“Over the past few weeks, we have been living with COVID-19 and the Omicron variant quite carefully and calmly, with a less restricted posture, where we can meet in groups of five.’ 

‘The fact is that with vaccinations working well and the Omicron variant being less severe, the top-line infection number is becoming less and less meaningful in our response to COVID-19,” said Mr Ong at a Multi-Ministry Task Force (MTF) press conference.

The weekly infection growth rate rose to 2.70, up from Thursday’s 2.17.  The growth rate refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before and a weekly infection growth rate above one indicates an increasing number of new weekly cases.

One death related to COVID-19 was reported on Friday, taking the national death toll to 846.

There were 4,453 cases discharged from the hospital over the past day, while 360 cases remain warded in hospitals. Of these,19 cases require oxygen supplementation and 13 cases remain in the Intensive Care Unit. 

In the last 28 days, 20,675 cases have been recorded, of which 99.6 per cent had no or mild symptoms and 0.3 per cent have required oxygen supplementation.

As of Jan 20, 91 per cent of the eligible population, 88 per cent of total population, are fully vaccinated, 90 per cent have received at least one dose and 54 per cent have received boosters.