More people have died in S'pore due to Covid-19 complications than SARS

The latest death was reported on June 8, 2021.

Sulaiman Daud | Fiona Tan | June 09, 2021, 10:52 AM

Singapore marked a tragic milestone on June 8, after the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported the 34th death due to Covid-19 complications.

This means that the pandemic has officially caused more deaths in Singapore than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003.

Case 62,680, Singapore's 34th death

An 86-year-old woman, referred to as Case 62,680, was warded at Khoo Teck Puat hospital for an unrelated medical condition.

She was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on April 30, and died on June 7.

She had not been vaccinated against Covid-19, and had a history of diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, hypertension and hypothyroidism.

First SARS death in 2003

The first SARS-related death was recorded on March 25, 2003, according to the Straits Times.

He was the father of "Patient 1", who had been admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on March 1, 2003 for suspected pneumonia.

On March 26, the second person died. This was the pastor of "Patient 1", who had visited her in hospital.

The next day, the government ordered that those who died of SARS must be cremated within 24 hours.

However, thanks to aggressive containment measures, Singapore was declared SARS-free by the World Health Organization in May 30 of that year.

By July 16, 2003, SARS was officially eradicated in Singapore.

Singapore's first Covid-19 death cases

Back on January 23, 2020, Singapore confirmed its first Covid-19 case in Singapore.

And on March 21, 2020, Singapore announced its first deaths due to Covid-19 complications.

Then-Health Minister Gan Kim Yong confirmed the details in a press conference.

They were Cases 90 and 212, a Singaporean woman and an Indonesian man respectively.

Some deaths of Covid-19 patients not included in count

There were some deaths of Covid-19 patients due to heart problems, such as ischaemic heart disease and heart attack.

However, they were not included in the official count.

According to MOH in May 2020, "Not adding Covid-19 patients who died of heart issues instead of the coronavirus to the official death toll is 'consistent with international practice'", CNA reported.

MOH reports all deaths of Covid-19 patients. However, there is a qualifier for it to classify as a death due to Covid-19:

"However, we add to the COVID-19 death count the cases where the attending doctor or pathologist attribute the primary or underlying cause of death as due to COVID-19 infection.

This has been our consistent practice, applied for both Singaporeans and foreigners in Singapore. It is consistent with international practice for classifying deaths."

List of deaths due to Covid-19 complications

The dates refer to the when the death was reported, not when the death occurred.

First and second deaths.

Third death - March 29, 2020. Singaporean man, 70.

Fourth death - April 2, 2020. Indonesian man, 68.

Fifth death - April 3, 2020. Singaporean woman, 86, from the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home cluster.

Sixth death - April 4, 2020. Male Singapore Permanent Resident, 86, from the Singapore Cricket Club cluster.

Seventh death - April 9, 2020. Singaporean woman, 86, from the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home cluster.

Eighth death - April 11, 2020. Singaporean man, 90.

Ninth death - April 13, 2020. Singaporean man, 65.

10th death - April 14, 2020. Singaporean man, 70, from the SAFRA Jurong cluster.

11th death - April 18, 2020. Singaporean man, 95.

12th death - April 22, 2020. Singaporean woman, 84.

13th and 14th deaths - April 27, 2020. Singaporean man, 82 and Singaporean man, 81.

15th death - April 30, 2020. Singaporean woman, 58.

16th death - May 1, 2020. Singaporean man, 60.

17th death - May 2, 2020. Singaporean man, 76.

18th death - May 3, 2020. Singaporean woman, 86.

19th and 20th deaths - May 6, 2020. Singaporean woman, 97 and Singaporean man, 73.

21st death - May 11, 2020. Singaporean man, 68.

22nd death - May 16, 2020. Singaporean man, 67.

23rd death - May 21, 2020. Singaporean man, 73.

24th death - June 1, 2020. Male Chinese national, 51.

25th death - June 6, 2020. Male Chinese national, 41.

26th death - June 13, 2020. Singaporean man, 73.

27th death - July 14, 2020. Singaporean man, 62.

28th death - October 12, 2020. Male Singapore Permanent Resident, 64, who had been working in India.

29th death - November 28. Singaporean man, 68, who had returned from Indonesia.

30th death - March 13, 2021. Singaporean man, 61, who had returned from the United Arab Emirates.

31st death - May 1, 2021. Singaporean woman, 88, warded in Tan Tock Seng Hospital Ward 9D.

32nd death - May 20, 2021. Singaporean man, 70, warded in Tan Tock Seng Hospital Ward 9D.

33rd death - May 30, 2021. Singaporean woman, 95.

34th death - June 8, 2021. Singaporean woman, 86.

Top image via Google Maps user Mdm Khoo.