Singapore reports 16,883 new Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths on Feb 16

SINGAPORE - The total number of Covid-19 cases reported on Wednesday (Feb 16) fell by 2,537 to 16,883 cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update.

There were 19,420 cases on Tuesday - the highest since the pandemic hit Singapore's shores in January 2020.

The number of patients hospitalised also fell to 1,352 from 1,355 the day before.

For the 12th day, hospitalisation numbers have exceeded 1,000.

There were also 35 patients in the intensive care unit, with a total of 153 requiring oxygen support, up from 140 on Tuesday.

There were 13 deaths reported on Wednesday.

Of the 16,689 local cases reported on Wednesday, 12,714 of them were detected through antigen rapid tests (ART), which means the patients displayed no symptoms or their symptoms were mild.

Another 3,975 were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

There were also 194 new imported cases, with 141 detected through PCR tests and 53 through ART.

The weekly Covid-19 infection growth rate is at 1.29, down from 1.34 the day before.

The rate refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week, over the week before. A rate of more than one shows that the number of new weekly Covid-19 cases is increasing.

As at Wednesday, Singapore has recorded a total of 514,880 Covid-19 cases and 926 deaths.

About 94 per cent of Singapore's eligible population have completed the full vaccination regimen, and 64 per cent of the total population have received the vaccine booster shot.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.