COVID-19: Singapore confirms 215 new cases, 10 of them in the community

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 215 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of Wednesday (1 July) noon, bringing the total to 44,122.

Among them are four imported cases and 10 community cases, while the remaining are foreign workers living in dormitories.

Of the imported cases, there are two Singaporeans and one permanent resident (Cases 43950, 44155 and 44156), and they had returned to Singapore from Pakistan on 19 and 20 June. They were placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, the ministry said, and had been conveyed in separate dedicated transport to SHN facilities to commence their 14-day isolation. They were asymptomatic when they arrived, and were tested while serving their SHN.

The remaining case (Case 44158) was also asymptomatic and had been tested upon arrival at Tanjong Pagar Terminal. The 39-year-old Indonesian man was isolated while awaiting his test result.

There are six Singaporeans among the community cases. Among them, one (Case 44052) had been identified as a contact of a previously confirmed case, and had already been quarantined earlier, the MOH said.

“Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining cases, of whom three (Cases 44073, 44075 and 44118) had been swabbed under our enhanced community testing after being diagnosed with acute respiratory infection.”

The remaining four community cases are work permit holders. The MOH said that two (Cases 44051 and 44053) had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had already been quarantined. “They were tested during quarantine to verify their status, even though they are asymptomatic. The remaining two cases (Cases 44076 and 44137) are also asymptomatic and were detected due to our proactive screening of workers in essential services.”

No new cluster was announced on Wednesday and the MOH closed dormitory clusters at 48 Toh Guan Road East and 7 Senoko South Road as there have been no new infections for the past two incubation periods (28 days).

Dormitories cleared of COVID-19

Dozens of clusters linked to foreign worker dorms have been identified thus far, including Singapore’s largest cluster of 2,774 cases linked to S11 Dormitory@Punggol, followed by Sungei Tengah Lodge with 2,055 cases, Jurong Penjuru Dormitory with 1,809 cases, Cassia @ Penjuru with 1,474 cases and Tuas View Dormitory with 1,409 cases.

These dorms, the top five clusters with the highest number of cases here, account for over 20 per cent of the total infected workers living in dorms. Some 400,000 such workers live in such residences here.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday (30 June) that 78 more dorms have been cleared of COVID-19. These comprise 72 factory-converted dormitories and six construction temporary quarters.

In addition, three blocks for recovered workers in three purpose-built dormitories have been cleared.

This takes the total number to 241 dorms and 21 blocks for recovered workers in 14 purpose-built dorms cleared of COVID-19.

As of 28 June, 87,000 foreign workers have been cleared of COVID-19, including those residing in government-provided accommodation facilities. A forecast of dormitories and blocks to be cleared from now till August onwards has been published on the ministry’s website.

Over 39,000 have fully recovered

With 511 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Wednesday, 39,011 cases have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while at least one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Thousands of 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 22 June, the ministry has conducted 684,359 swab tests, of which 376,749 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 120,100 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 66,100 unique individuals swabbed per 1 million total population.

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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