Singapore PM assures senior citizens of coronavirus vaccine safety

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has assured Singapore's senior citizens that Covid vaccines are safe and urged them to get doses, as city-state recorded its 37th coronavirus-linked fatality.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has assured Singapore's senior citizens that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and urged them to get the doses, even as the city-state recorded its 37th coronavirus-linked fatality on Sunday.

An unvaccinated 83-year old woman is the latest COVID-19 fatality here. She developed a fever and cough on June 16 but did not seek medical attention until she was taken to National University Hospital on June 18, where she tested positive for COVID-19 the next day, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement.

In a video posted on social media on Saturday, Prime Minister Lee said, Don't wait till it's too late."

Most people your age are already vaccinated, including many of your friends and neighbours. Protect yourself, and your family too, said the Prime Minister.

"There is continuing evidence that vaccination helps to prevent serious disease when one gets infected," the MOH added.

Singapore reported 130 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, 127 of whom were from the community and three were imported (or people who arrived here from abroad).

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 64,057 COVID-19 cases.

A 27-year-old Indian national, who works as an engineer at Ecoxplore, and a 32-year-old Indonesian domestic worker are linked to one of the closed clusters, according to a Channel News Asia report.

The MOH said the overall number of new cases in the community has increased from 238 in the week before to 1,027 cases in the past week.

A total of 490 cases are in hospital, with most well and under observation. Six of the new cases are people above the age of 70 years who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated (first dose of injection) and are at risk of serious illness, the MOH added.

Nine people above 60-years-old, who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, have fallen very ill, said the MOH.

There are 12 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and one in critical condition in the intensive care unit. None of the 13 cases is fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, a popular Indian restaurant, Samy's Curry at Dempsey, has been shut for two weeks until August 8 for cleaning as it became a cluster of COVID-19 cases.

"Our epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission at the restaurant," media reports quoted the MOH.

All staff at the restaurant have been placed on quarantine. Free COVID-19 tests will also be offered to people who had visited the restaurant between July 19 and 23.

The MOH said all visitors to the Dempsey area, where a wide range of eateries and restaurants operate, should monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as much as possible, for 14 days from their date of visit. They are encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.

There are currently 26 active COVID-19 clusters in Singapore, ranging between three and 741 infections, according to the news channel's report.

Over the last 28 days, 11 local cases required oxygen supplementation and were admitted to ICU or passed away. Six are unvaccinated, five are partially vaccinated and none was fully vaccinated.

Mandatory COVID-19 testing is conducted across apartment blocks where coronavirus-linked cases are detected.

This is done to uncover community infection cases, the MOH said on Saturday.