SINGAPORE, 24 Dec(CNA)- Singapore reported 265 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (Dec 24), of which 79 are imported.

No fatalities were reported for the first time since Sep 19, with the country's death toll from coronavirus complications remaining at 820.

A total of 82 new Omicron cases were confirmed on Friday, of which 17 are local and 65 are imported.

From Friday, COVID-19 cases who test positive for the S-gene target failure (SGTF) will be categorised as Omicron cases, without additional whole genome sequencing (WGS), the Health Ministry said.

"Based on our local experience, if a person tests positive for SGTF, it is very likely that it is an Omicron variant," MOH said.