4,985 new Covid-19 cases reported in Singapore, up from 2,389 cases on May 30

THE number of new Covid-19 cases reported in Singapore surged on Tuesday (May 31) to 4,985 said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in an update on its website.

This was more than double the 2,389 cases reported on Monday (May 30), but lower than last Tuesday's (May 24 cases, where 5,727 were reported).

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.

There were 330 hospitalised Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, with 11 patients in intensive care and 38 requiring oxygen support.

Three people died of Covid-19, MOH said.

There were 4,774 new locally transmitted cases.

Of the new local cases, 429 were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

Another 4,345 cases were detected through antigen rapid tests (ART), which means the patients displayed no symptoms or their symptoms were mild.

There were 211 new imported cases, with 10 detected through PCR tests and 201 through ART.

The weekly Covid-19 infection growth rate stood at 0.82, down from 0.95 the day before.

The rate refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week over those of the week before. A rate of more than 1 shows that the number of new weekly Covid-19 cases is increasing.

With the latest update on Thursday, Singapore has recorded a total of 1,303,294 Covid-19 cases, with 1,389 deaths. THE STRAITS TIMES