COVID-19: Singapore reports 257 new infections; Bugis+ cinema hall among places visited by cases
SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed 257 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, taking the total to 47,912.
Of the new cases, 244 are migrant workers residing in dormitories, five are imported and eight are from the community, said MOH in a news release on Sunday (19 July).
Two Singaporeans are among the community cases. One is a 26-year-old man (No. 47747), whose case is unlinked, and the other is a 53-year-old woman (No. 47945) who works at Toh Guan dormitory and is linked to the cluster at the dorm.
Of the cases from the community, six were picked up as a result of proactive surveillance and screening, and one had already been placed on quarantine earlier. Seven of the cases are asymptomatic, and were detected through proactive testing.
Three of the community cases are linked to previous cases or clusters. Of these, one (No. 47807) had been identified as a contact of a previously confirmed case, and had been placed on quarantine earlier. She was tested during quarantine to determine her status, even though she is asymptomatic. Another case (No. 47809) was identified from testing of individuals working in frontline COVID-19 operations. The remaining case (No. 47945) was swabbed for COVID-19 under enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at first presentation to a doctor.
Five of the community cases are currently unlinked. They are all asymptomatic, and were detected from proactive screening. Of these, three of them (Nos. 47746, 47808 and 47810) were identified as a result of periodic screening of workers in essential services who are living outside the dormitories. The remaining cases (Nos. 47747 and 47899) were tested as part of efforts to screen individuals working in frontline COVID-19 operations.
The number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of 16 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 10 per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased, from an average of eight cases per day in the week before, to an average of six per day in the past week.
Imported cases
Among the five imported cases, two are a five-year-old Singaporean boy (No. 47785) and a 29-year-old permanent resident (No. 47737) who returned to Singapore from India on 26 June and one-year-old Singaporean baby boy (No. 47939) who returned from Azerbaijan on 4 July.
The remaining two cases are a dependant’s pass holder (No. 47735) and work pass holder (No. 47745) who is currently employed in Singapore. They arrived in Singapore from India and the Philippines on 7 July. 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.
Hospitalised and recovered cases
With 253 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Sunday, 44,086 cases – some 92 per cent of the total tally – have fully recovered from the infection.
Most of the 181 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
A total of 3,618 patients with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive are isolated and cared for at community facilities.
Apart from 27 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 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, 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.
Places visited by COVID-19 cases
The MOH also updated the list of public places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community from 5 to 17 July including shopping malls, supermarkets, eateries, shops and a cinema hall at FilmGarde Bugis+.
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