429 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore; 155 Omicron infections confirmed

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 429 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Sunday (Jan 2), including 297 imported infections. 

There were no fatalities, and the death toll from coronavirus complications remains at 829, according to the latest infection statistics on the Ministry of Health's (MOH) website.

Sunday's case count was down from the 456 infections reported on Saturday.

Among the new cases reported on Sunday, 132 were locally transmitted, comprising 128 in the community and four in migrant worker's dormitories.

Separately, MOH's website also showed that 155 new Omicron infections were confirmed on Sunday, comprising 119 imported cases and 36 local cases.

The daily new COVID-19 cases and new confirmed Omicron cases are presented as two separate sets of data on MOH's website.

The weekly infection growth rate on Sunday was 0.92, up from Saturday's 0.85. This refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week over the week before.

This is the ninth consecutive day the weekly infection growth rate has increased.

The rate has remained below 1 since Nov 13, indicating that the number of new weekly COVID-19 cases is falling. 

Authorities have described the weekly infection growth rate as a key indicator that could be used to assess risk levels in the calibrating of COVID-19 measures.

As of Sunday, Singapore has recorded 280,290 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.

HOSPITALISATIONS AND VACCINATIONS

The intensive care unit (ICU) utilisation rate was 41.9 per cent, down from the 43.7 per cent reported on Saturday. 

There were 266 patients in hospital, with 41 requiring oxygen supplementation.

In the ICU, four patients required close monitoring while 14 patients were critically ill.

As of Saturday, 91 per cent of Singapore's eligible population have completed their full vaccination regimen under the national vaccination programme.

About 41 per cent of the total population have received their vaccine booster shots.