Singapore sees 2023's first child death from Covid-19

[Update Nov 27]

A 13-month-old boy died on Oct 12 from Covid-19 infection, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in response to AsiaOne's queries on Friday (Nov 24).

The Singaporean toddler was unvaccinated for Covid-19 and had a "significant medical history of a congenital condition with a poor prognosis" before his infection.

He was admitted to the hospital on Oct 10 after he tested positive for the coronavirus and died from acute Covid-19 infection two days later, with his congenital condition contributing to his death.

According to MOH, this is Singapore's first death caused by Covid-19 in a patient aged below 12 in 2023. Three children died from Covid-19 in 2022 and there were no Covid-19 deaths in children in 2020 or 2021.

"The risk of severe Covid-19 in young children is lower than that in older adults, but severe outcomes can still occur, particularly in those who have underlying medical conditions and who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19," the health ministry explained, urging all individuals aged six months and above to ensure that their Covid-19 vaccination status is up to date, based on the prevailing recommendations for them.

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A child died from Covid-19 in October, making it the first such case this year.

According to the Ministry of Health's statistics, a total of 27 Covid deaths were recorded last month, with 25 deaths involving individuals aged 60 and above, one death in the group aged between 12 and 59 and one death in the group aged below 12.

In September, Singapore saw 17 Covid deaths, and all cases involved individuals aged 60 and above.

The highest number of Covid-related deaths so far this year was recorded in April with 54 cases. Among them, all but one were aged 60 and above.

Meanwhile, the lowest number of deaths was recorded in February, where five individuals died due to Covid-19.

In October, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that Singapore was experiencing a "second Covid-19 infection wave" this year, with majority of the cases driven by two descendants of the XBB Omicron variant - the EG.5 and its sub-lineage HK.3.

"Like the last wave which occurred from March to May 2023, we have no plans to impose any social restrictions. We will treat this as an endemic disease, in line with our strategy and live with it," he said.

Singaporeans should not lower their guard, he warned, adding that in the coming weeks, more people are likely to fall sick, and hospitalisations will become more common.

The elderly should also "take necessary precautions" such as wearing a mask in crowded areas and, more importantly, keeping vaccinations up to date.

"Like all protection, it will wane over time. Whatever protective walls we build, over time it will deteriorate and eventually crumble... before this protection wanes, if you take another jab, the protection gets renewed again," he explained.

"If you are not up to date with your vaccination, and you allow your protection to completely wear off, an infection now can be as worrisome as when the pandemic first broke out and we had no vaccinations."

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khooyihang@asiaone.com