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The Ministry of Health reported 82 new Omicron cases in Singapore as of 12pm on Dec. 24.

Of these, 17 are local and 65 are imported cases.

MOH added that this is an "one-time substantial increase" from the last update due to a change in the categorisation of Omicron cases in Singapore.

MOH elaborated on its website:

"From today, Covid-19 cases tested positive for the S-gene target failure (SGTF) will be categorised as Omicron cases, without additional whole genome sequencing (WGS).

Based on our local experience, if a person tests positive for SGTF, it is very likely that it is an Omicron variant. This is aligned to the practice in other countries, and does not change our existing public health actions which are already triggered on the basis of detecting SGTF.

Due to this change, the number of Omicron cases will see a one-time substantial increase from the last update, as samples pending WGS have been included in today’s count."

Other updates

New Covid-19 cases: 265

Community cases: 177

Cases from migrant workers' dormitories: 9

Death cases: 0

Weekly infection growth rate: 0.52

Total number of Covid-19 cases: 277,307

Total death cases: 820

Recovery

Require oxygen supplementation in the general ward: 45

Unstable and under close monitoring in the ICU: 10

Critically ill in the ICU: 19

Current overall ICU utilisation rate: 51.7 per cent

Vaccination progress

Percentage of total population completed full regimen: 87 per cent

Received at least one dose: 88 per cent

Received booster shot: 36 per cent

Percentage of eligible population fully vaccinated: 96 per cent

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Top image by Andrew Koay