The COVID-19 pandemic has taken another life in Singapore. The news was confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (3 April) after a patient passed away from complications due to the coronavirus infection.
She is the fifth of such death in Singapore.
About The Patient
The patient was an 86 year-old female Singapore Citizen who had no recent travel history to affected countries and regions.
It has been reported that she is Case 918, one of the infected people in the cluster at Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home.
She was admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Tuesday (31 March) and was confirmed to have COVID-19 the same day. She died from the infection at 1.55am on Friday.
According to MOH, the NCID has reached out to her family and is extending assistance to them.
National Centre for Infections Deceases building. | Image source: Miguel Vidal/iStock
Fifth death from COVID-19
Four have died from the disease since Singapore confirmed its first case on 23 January.
In March, a 75-year-old Singaporean woman and a 64-year-old Indonesian man died from COVID-19. The woman had a history of chronic heart disease and hypertension, while the man had a history of heart disease.
Another a 70-year-old Singaporean man, Mr Chung Ah Lay, died from the disease. He had no recent travel history to affected countries and regions. He had a history of hypertension and high cholesterol and died from complication from the virus infection.
The fourth person, a 68-year-old Indonesian man with a history of diabetes and hypertension, died on Thursday (1 April).
A medical personnel at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. | Image source: Tan Tock Seng Hospital/Facebook
Elderly Are Most Vulnerable
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have previously confirmed that the elderly are at the highest risk of dying from coronavirus. According to a study by China CDC reported that nearly 15% of patients ages 80 or older with coronavirus died from it.
Based on the information available, those at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are:
- People 65 years and older
- People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
- People of all ages with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness, particularly if the underlying medical conditions are not well controlled.
But it should be noted that COVID-19 does not discriminate by age. It can affect people of any age and can take anyone’s life at any age. In the United States, an infant has died from the disease.
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