Covid-19 cases linked to staff at bus interchange clusters rise to 416

SINGAPORE - There were 26 new cases of Covid-19 linked to staff at eight bus interchanges on Saturday (Sept 4), bringing the total number of cases in the clusters to 416.

There were also 21 new Covid-19 cases linked to the cluster at Changi General Hospital on Saturday, bringing its total to 36.

There were also three new clusters announced on Saturday.

One new case was linked to the new cluster at Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard cluster, bringing its total to eight people.

Two new cases were added to the Radiance Student Care Centre cluster in Serangoon, bringing its total to four people.

The cluster at Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard has a total of eight cases, while the Radiance Student Care Centre cluster has four people. PHOTOS: Lianhe Zaobao, Screengrab from Google Maps

And two new cases were linked to staff at the Orient Goldsmiths and Jewellers in Toa Payoh, which now has three cases.

Meanwhile, the cluster at Bugis Junction has grown by six cases to 261.

There are currently 62 open clusters, ranging between three and 1,155 infections each.

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There were 253 new locally transmitted cases on Saturday, and six imported cases for a total of 259 cases.

There were 116 unlinked cases - the highest number of unlinked cases to date.

The new cases bring Singapore's total to 68,469.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 551 cases in the week before to 1,167 cases in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 128 cases in the week before to 470 cases in the past week.

There are 608 hospitalised cases. Of these, 22 cases of serious illness require oxygen supplementation, with five in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Of those who have fallen very ill, 22 are seniors above 60 years old, 12 of whom are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

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As at Friday, 81 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated, while 83 per cent have received at least one dose.

Singapore's director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak said at a press conference on Friday that while the increased number of cases will naturally raise concerns among the public that the Covid-19 situation may be deteriorating, the rise is in fact not unexpected.

Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, had also said previously that the unintended consequence of having more of the population vaccinated is the emergence of more unlinked cases.

This is because a vaccinated person who is infected is likely to be silently transmitting the virus with mild or no symptoms at all.