Yahoo News COVID-19: Singapore confirms 157 new cases, 20 in the community
SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed on Tuesday (7 July) 157 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the total to 45,140.
Of them, 20, half of which are Singaporeans, aged between 2 and 70, are classified as cases in the community. Three others are imported cases, while the remaining 134 are foreign workers living in dormitories.
Overall, 94% of new cases are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing
Among the new cases, four are students – one each from Bedok View Secondary School, East Spring Primary School, Jurong West Primary School and Jurong WestSecondary School – and a fifth case is a teacher from Assumption Pathway School.
The four students are linked to household infections. They were already on Home Quarantine Order (HQO) due to MOH’s ringfencing measures before they were later swabbed as close contacts of their household members. These students werewell when they were last in school the previous week. Investigations are on-going forthe teacher from Assumption Pathway School.
About 60 students and 10 staff each in Assumption Pathway School, East Spring Primary School, Jurong West Primary School and Jurong West Secondary School who were in contact with the confirmed cases, have been issued a 14-day Leave of Absence (LOA) by MOE or HQO by MOH.
“For Bedok View Secondary School, as the student was last in school on 30 June, MOH has assessed the risk of infection for students and staff to be low. Hence, no LOA or HQO has been issued.” said MOE.
“We would also like to assure all parents and students that while we can expect to see such confirmed cases from time to time through a more extensive COVID-19 testing regime, we will continue to quickly isolate those who are at risk of infection through LOA and HQO. This will prevent transmissions and enable the rest of the school system to continue to function normally.”
12 of the community cases today are linked to previous cases or clusters. Of these, 11 had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had been tested during their quarantine to determine their status. The remaining case (Case 45087) was swabbed as part of the screening of workers in essential services, even though he is asymptomatic.
8 of the community cases are currently unlinked. Of these, 5 cases (Cases 45085, 45089, 45090, 45091 and 45092) were tested as they work in essential services, even though they are all asymptomatic. The remaining cases (Cases 45027, 45149 and 45164) were swabbed under the community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at first presentation to a doctor.
Amongst the 3 imported cases aged between 7 and 32, 2 (Cases 45123 and 45147) are Indian nationals who are Dependant’s Pass holders, and have returned to Singapore from India on 23 June.
The remaining case (Case 45024) is a Filipino who returned to Singapore from the Philippines on 19 June. She is a Work Pass holder who is currently employed in Singapore. All of them had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and had been tested while serving their SHN.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of 8 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 14 per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased, from an average of 4 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 6 per day
Over 90% have fully recovered
With 285 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Tuesday, 41,002 cases – 90.8 per cent of the total tally – have fully recovered from the infection.
Most of the 219 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit, down from two on Monday.
A total of 3,893 patients with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive are isolated and cared for at community facilities.
Apart from 26 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 12 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four, including the 48-year-old male Indian national, whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.
“Only cases where the attending doctor or pathologist attributes the primary or underlying cause of death as due to COVID-19 infection will be added to the COVID-19 death count,” said the MOH in previous press releases, adding that the method of assessment is consistent with international practices for classifying deaths.
As of 29 June, the ministry has conducted 757,746 swab tests, of which 414,396 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 132,900 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 72,700 unique individuals swabbed per 1 million total population.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Manpower said in a media release that 384 more dormitories have been cleared of COVID-19 with effect from Tuesday (7 July).
These comprise one purpose-built dormitory, 345 factory-converted dormitories and 38 construction temporary quarters. In addition, 23 blocks for recovered workers in 5 purpose-built dormitories have been cleared.
This takes the total number to 625 dormitories and 44 blocks for recovered workers in 17 purpose-built dormitories cleared of COVID-19.
Singapore entered Phase 2 of its reopening – with various safe distancing measures still in place – on 19 June. This phase is expected to last up to six months or longer, according to authorities.
Singapore’s General Election will take place on 10 July during this phase.
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