Senior Minister Says Singapore Can Record 2,000 COVID-19 Deaths Each Year

Singapore illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/chensiyuan)

JAKARTA - Singapore could register 2,000 deaths from COVID-19 every year, a minister said on Monday as the country battles its biggest spike in infections.

At 0.2 percent Singapore's COVID-19 case fatality rate is similar to the pneumonia death rate before the pandemic hit, said Janil Puthucheary, a senior minister of state at the Ministry of Health.

It was also lower than other countries where cases spiked before vaccination, he continued.

"But that means that over time, the number of deaths from COVID-19 will increase despite the best medical care", he said.

"We could probably have 2,000 deaths per year from COVID-19", he continued.

These deaths will mainly occur among the elderly, but Singapore is focused on avoiding excessive deaths, he added. However, he did not estimate how many years the estimate was valid.

Lion Land was known to have had 4,000 deaths a year from influenza and other respiratory illnesses before the pandemic, he said.

It is known, more than 80 percent of Singapore's 5.45 million population has been fully vaccinated and almost all cases are asymptomatic or mild.

About 95 percent of those who died in the last six months were over 60 years old, with 72 percent of those who died not receiving the full COVID-19 vaccine.

Senior Minister Puthucheary also said the country was trying to live with COVID-19 as endemic.

"While we will have deaths from COVID-19, we will not see more deaths overall than we would in a normal non-COVID year", he said.

To note, Singapore extended restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 until the end of this month, which drew some criticism from the public. Meanwhile, the wife of prime minister Ho Ching said people should stop complaining.

"We're just spoiled kids if we keep blabbering about our disappointments, about eating and freedom. Let's do our best to help, instead of wasting our energy on throwing tantrums", Ho said.