8,164 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, 728 patients in hospitals

[SINGAPORE] The number of daily new Covid-19 infections in Singapore climbed to 8,164 on Tuesday (March 29), up from the 4,925 cases the day before (March 28).

Case numbers on Tuesdays tend to be higher compared with the rest of the week as they reflect the spike in infections after the weekend when more people are out in various social settings.

But the number was still lower than the figure from last Tuesday (March 22), when the Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 13,166 new Covid-19 cases.

The number of people hospitalised rose to 728 on Tuesday (March 29), MOH said in an update on its website. Four deaths were also reported.

On Monday, there were 717 people hospitalised, and four deaths.

The Covid-19 week-on-week infection ratio remained below one for the 28th straight day, at 0.69, MOH added. On Monday, it was 0.73.

The week-on-week infection ratio refers to the ratio of community cases in the past week, compared with the week before. A ratio of more than one indicates that the number of new weekly Covid-19 cases is increasing.

There were 25 patients in the intensive care unit, and 83 needed oxygen support.

Of the local cases, 7,153 were detected through antigen rapid tests (ART), which means they were assessed by a doctor to have mild symptoms and to be of low risk.

Another 856 cases were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

There were 155 new imported cases, of which 26 were detected through PCR tests and 129 through ARTs.

With the latest update on Tuesday, Singapore has recorded a total of 1,085,094 Covid-19 cases, with 1,258 deaths.

About 95 per cent of the eligible population in Singapore have completed their full vaccination regimen, and 71 per cent of the total population have received their booster shots. THE STRAITS TIMES