Singapore, one of countries with the highest Covid vaccination rates in the world, could still see 2,000 deaths from the coronavirus each year with most victims among old and sick people, a government minister said.
The death rate from Covid stands at 0.2 percent in Singapore and is comparable to that of pneumonia before the pandemic, when about 4,000 patients—mostly elderly and unwell—would succumb to influenza and other respiratory diseases, Janil Puthucheary, a senior minister in the health ministry, told parliament. Although the health-care system is stressed, it hasn’t been overwhelmed, he said.
“We are trying to get to the point where the combination of high vaccination rates, booster jabs and even more boosting from mild infections means that Covid-19 will no longer spread as an epidemic in Singapore,” Puthucheary said. He said the country wanted to reach that state without excess mortality, meaning without seeing more overall deaths than before the pandemic.
Singapore has recorded 407 Covid-related deaths as of October 31, according to the health ministry. While the city-state has vaccinated 84 percent of its 5.45 million population, infections recently rose to more than 3,000 per day. Although most show few or no symptoms, the rise in cases prompted the government to further restrict social life.