Singapore’s Covid-19 Death Toll Hits 17 People On 3 May
Covid-19 has officially clocked up a death toll of over 244,000 people around the world since the pandemic began in Nov 2019.
As Singapore announced her 17th death last night (2 May), we commemorate the brave patients who have passed away from complications from the deadly virus.
We’ll also take a look at the inspiring recovery of our nation’s oldest Covid-19 survivor to date.
1. 75-year-old Singaporean woman, Case 90
A 75-year-old lady – Case 90 – was reportedly linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore cluster as one of Singapore’s first reported casualties.
After admission to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on 23 Feb for pneumonia, the senior tested positive for Covid-19 later that day.
After a 26-day battle with the virus in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), she succumbed to the infection at around 7.52am on Saturday (21 Mar) morning.
Health History: Chronic heart disease & hypertension
2. 64-year-old Indonesian man, Case 212
The second reported death was a 64-year-old Indonesian man who was the nation’s 212nd case.
He arrived in Singapore on 13 Mar and was admitted to the ICU at NCID on the same day in a critical condition.
After a 9-day battle with the virus, he “developed serious complications” and passed away on Saturday (21 Mar) at around 10.15am.
Health History: Heart disease
3. 70-year-old Singaporean man, Case 109
On Sunday (29 Mar), 8 days after the first 2 deaths occurred, the Ministry of Health declared that a 3rd Covid-19 patient had died.
The man, a 70-year-old Singaporean, was pronounced dead at 12.12pm. It was not specified which Case he was.
A 27-day stay at the ICU which began on 2 Mar preceded his death, prior to which he was admitted to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on 29 Feb.
Unfortunately, his health deteriorated during the course of his treatment in ICU. His eldest daughter wrote that he lived a good life as a “benevolent father” and would be dearly missed, reported The Straits Times.
Health History: High blood pressure (hypertension) & high cholesterol (hyperlipidaemia)
4. 68-year-old Indonesian man, Case 476
Shortly after Singapore’s Covid-19 tally surpassed the 1,000 mark, our 4th Covid-19 death occurred on Thursday (2 Apr).
The patient in question was a 68-year-old Indonesian man who held a Singapore Work Pass. He had visited Indonesia from 20 Jan to 16 Mar, before being diagnosed in Singapore on 22 Mar, and admitted to NCID on the same day.
After a 7-day stay at the ICU, he succumbed to the disease on 2 Apr at around 6.43am due to health complications.
Health History: Diabetes & hypertension
5. 86-year-old Singaporean woman, Case 918
On Friday (3 Apr), the morning after the 4th death was logged, MOH announced a 5th Covid-19 death.
The patient was an 86-year-old woman with no travel history to other affected regions. She was linked the to Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home cluster.
NCID received her for admission on 31 Mar and she tested positive on the same day. She passed away in the wee hours of Friday morning at around 1.55am, 3 days later.
Her passing was confirmed by the care centre on Facebook shortly after.
Visitors were barred from entering all nursing homes in Singapore till the end of April, after the nursing home cluster’s discovery on 1 Apr.
Health History: No reported conditions
6. 88-year-old man, Singapore PR, Case 855
The sixth patient who passed away from a Covid-19 infection was confirmed on 4 Apr by MOH.
He was an 88-year-old male PR who had not travelled to affected countries or regions, and was diagnosed on 29 Mar. Instead, he was classified as a “locally transmitted case” which was linked to the Singapore Cricket Club cluster.
After admission on 30 Mar to NCID, he developed “serious complications” before passing away.
Health History: Heart & kidney disease, cancer & diabetes
7. 86-year-old Singaporean woman, Case 987
The coronavirus took its toll on an 86-year-old lady who became the 7th Covid-19 death in Singapore on the day local infections surpassed 2,000.
Case 987 was linked to the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home cluster, like the 5th patient who passed away. She succumbed to complications from the infection on 9 Apr, said MOH.
Her battle with Covid-19 lasted 8 days at the NCID, beginning on 1 Apr when she first tested positive.
Health History: No reported conditions
8. 90-year-old Singaporean man, Case 1142
Singapore’s 8th death came with 191 new local cases on Saturday (11 Apr).
The nonagenarian – who was Case 1142 – had passed away from complications due to the Covid-19 infection that morning.
He had been admitted to NCID on 3 Apr after testing positive for the virus on the same day.
Health History: No reported conditions
9. 65-year-old Singaporean man, Case 1836
Case 1836 passed away from Covid-19 about 2 days later, on Monday (13 Apr).
The 9th patient to succumb to health complications from the infection was a 65-year-old male Singaporean who had been battling the virus since 9 Apr.
At that point, Singapore had also recorded its highest daily spike of 386 new local cases, with most of them linked to migrant workers’ dorm clusters.
We were also a week into the Circuit Breaker, with PM Lee warning the nation to brace for more casualties.
Health History:Â No reported conditions
10. 70-year-old Singaporean man, Case 128
The 10th person to pass away from the deadly virus was a 70-year-man who was part of the SAFRA Jurong cluster.
He had been in attendance at a private dinner at Joy Garden Restaurant on 15 Feb.
Along with a 65-year-old family member – Case 125 – the senior had gotten diagnosed with the infection.
The elderly Singapore citizen who eventually became Singapore’s 10th casualty was Case 128. He tested positive for Covid-19 as early as 6 Mar and was warded at NCID.
After a month-long battle with the condition, he succumbed to the disease on Tuesday (14 Apr).
Health History: No reported conditions
11. 95-year-old Singaporean man, Case 3141
On Friday (17 Apr), as Singapore crossed the 5,000 mark for local cases, we also recorded our 11th Covid-19 death.
A 95-year-old male Singaporean – Case 3145 – had received his coronavirus diagnosis on 13 Apr.
After 4 days, he passed away from complications related to the disease at Raffles Hospital.
Health History: No reported conditions
12. 84-year-old Singaporean woman, Case 1071
The 12th Covid-19 death in Singapore involved an 84-year-old female patient who passed away on 21 Apr.
Case 1071 had been warded at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and received her diagnosis 19 days earlier.
Local infections also surpassed 10,000 on the same day, with 1,016 new cases reported at noon on 22 Apr. However, majority of the cases were linked to migrant workers’ dormitory clusters.
Health History: No reported conditions
13. 82-year-old Singaporean man, Case 1595
Singapore’s 13th Covid-19 death was announced on 27 Apr, as the national case count
Case 1595 received a confirmed diagnosis for Covid-19 on 8 Apr, and the 82-year-old had succumbed to complications from the infection 2.5 weeks later after receiving treatment at NCID.
Health History:Â No reported conditions
14. 81-year-old Singaporean man, Case 9682
MOH confirmed Singapore’s 14th Covid-19 death on the same day as the 13th casualty.
In this case, the 81-year-old Singaporean man had tested positive on 20 Apr, and passed away within a week on 27 Apr.
NCID has reached out to both their loved ones to provide necessary support and assistance.
Health History:Â No reported conditions
15. 58-year-old Singaporean woman, Case 703
As our national tally crossed the 16,000 mark on Thursday (30 Apr) afternoon, Singapore reported our youngest Covid-19 casualty yet.
A 58-year-old female patient has been the youngest to pass away from complications due to the virus at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
All previous patients had been aged between 64-95 years old. Case 703 had a known travel history to Europe and had been diagnosed on 26 Mar.
Health History:Â No reported conditions
16. 60-year-old Singaporean man, Case 2728
Labour Day brought news of our 16th Covid-19 death with a 60-year-old Singaporean passing away on Friday (1 May).
Initial diagnosis for Case 2728 was completed on 13 Apr as the patient battled the infection for close to 3 weeks before his death.
Health History: High blood pressure (hypertension) & high cholesterol (hyperlipidaemia)
17. 76-year-old Singaporean man, Case 1323
The most recent loss the nation has had in the ongoing battle against Covid-19 is a 76-year-old Singaporean man who passed away from complications on Saturday (2 May).
Case 1323 was the 17th Covid-19 death, confirmed MOH.
After close to a month of battling the virus, with his initial diagnosis on 6 Apr, the patient finally succumbed to the infection at Changi General Hospital.
Health History: Cancer
Possible posthumous diagnosis
A 47-year-old Bangladeshi man – Case 17,410 – had passed away on Friday (1 May), and had tested positive for Covid-19 only after his death.
MOH has stated that investigations are ongoing to pinpoint the exact cause of death.
102-year-old lady is the oldest patient to recover
Despite the grim prospects of a Covid-19 diagnosis for seniors, Madam Yap Lay Hong defied all the odds to survive her ordeal.
Madam Yap had contracted the coronavirus as part of the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home cluster. Singapore’s 5th & 7th deaths were linked to the same cluster as Madam Yap’s old age home along Thomson.
However, she was officially given the ‘all-clear’ on Friday (1 May), leaving Tan Tock Seng Hospital with a clean bill of health.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of healthcare staff, she pulled off a miraculous recovery and is our oldest patient to date to have survived the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore.
Persevering despite the odds
On that note, though looking through the case profiles of Covid-19 victims may be grim, the silver lining is that we believe most received adequate care and fought their hardest against the deadly virus before their passing.
We extend our condolences to the loved ones of every patient we’ve lost to the global pandemic. May we continue to persevere in our fight to preserve lives and curb the spread.
Featured image adapted from Baey Yam Keng on Facebook & Google Maps.
