442 new COVID-19 cases reported on Dec 14; 188 cases aged between 12 and 39

Singapore reported 442 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday (Dec 14), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Of the new infections, 401 were from the community and 188 of those infected were aged between 12 and 39.

There are currently 16 cases linked to the Omicron variant in Singapore, the Multi-Ministry Task Force on COVID-19 (MTF) announced on Tuesday (Dec 14). Of these, 14 were imported and the two were locally transmitted cases.

The two local cases are airport passenger service staff members working at Changi Airport, and there are no known linkages between the two cases.

Co-chair of the MTF Gan Kim Yong warned on Tuesday that it is “only a matter of time” before the spread of the Omicron variant in Singapore happens.

All 16 Omicron cases are fully vaccinated, with no or mild symptoms and at least two, including one of the airport workers, have received their booster shots. Thirteen are recovering in isolation wards at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), while three cases have been discharged.

Active contact tracing is being conducted to ring-fence close contacts of these cases and reduce onward transmission once infection with the Omicron variant is suspected, through the detection of S-gene target failure in their test results.

This includes quarantine at designated facilities, while the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) is tasked with confirming that cases are infected with the Omicron variant through genomic sequencing of the test samples.

Six deaths related to COVID-19 were reported on Dec 14. No information about the deaths were provided by the MOH and the national death toll now stands at 804.

There were 603 cases discharged from the hospital over the past day. Currently, 548 cases remain warded in hospitals, with 75 cases requiring oxygen supplementation. There are 34 cases that remain in the Intensive Care Unit.

In the last 28 days, 32,461 cases have been recorded, of which 98.7 per cent had no or mild symptoms and 0.8 per cent have required oxygen supplementation.

As of Dec 13, 96 per cent of the eligible population, 87 per cent of total population, are fully vaccinated, 87 per cent have received at least one dose and 31 per cent have received boosters.