SINGAPORE: A community case was discovered among the new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Monday (Dec 21), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its preliminary daily update.
This is the first community case reported in Singapore since Dec 5.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNine imported cases were also reported on Monday, and all were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon their arrival in Singapore, MOH said.
Details of the new cases will be released on Monday night, said the ministry.
COVID-19 VACCINATION SHOULD BE COMPREHENSIVE: EXPERT
AdvertisementAdvertisementPrime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced last week that the first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine, developed by American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German firm BioNTech, should arrive in Singapore by the end of the year.
The Health Sciences Authority has recommended that the vaccine be administered to people above 16, except for pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems, pending safety and efficacy data on these groups of people.
In addition, people with a history of anaphylaxis or the rapid onset of severe allergic reactions should not receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as a precautionary measure.
Singapore should vaccinate as many people as possible when the COVID-19 vaccine arrives, says Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, who is on the Expert Committee for COVID-19 Vaccination.
Advertisement[h=3]READ: Don't focus on herd immunity, vaccination should be comprehensive: COVID-19 panel expert[/h][h=3]READ: Data on Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 'robustly and thoroughly reviewed', says HSA[/h]Prof Poh added that it’s a “mistake to focus on percentages” to achieve herd immunity when it comes to the vaccination.
“I think the optimum outcome is that we vaccinate everybody in Singapore that we can safely vaccinate and who's willing to be vaccinated," she said.
[h=3]READ: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Sinovac: A look at three key COVID-19 vaccines[/h][h=3]READ: Moderna confirms agreement with MOH to supply Singapore with COVID-19 vaccine[/h]Achieving herd immunity means there will not be outbreaks raging in the community, but it doesn’t mean that there are no cases or small clusters, said Assoc Prof Lim, a senior consultant and head of the Travellers’ Health & Vaccination Clinic at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
“Even if we get 70 per cent or 80 per cent of the population vaccinated, four people you see might be fine but that fifth person is not okay. That person would get hurt, they would get sick they could end up in the ICU on a ventilator," she said.
Singapore has reported a total of 58,432 cases of COVID-19 as of Monday.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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