COVID-19: 1 imported, 9 community cases amongst S'pore's 185 new infections; 90% of total recovered

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed on Saturday (4 July) 185 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the total to 44,664, as well as 348 more recoveries.

Of them, one is an imported case, while nine – including four Singaporeans aged between 20 and 82 – are classified as community cases. The remaining 175 are foreign workers living in dormitories.

The imported case, an 11-year-old male permanent resident, had returned to Singapore from India on 21 June and is a family member of case 44351.

The boy was placed on stay-home notice (SHN) upon his arrival in Singapore and had been conveyed in a dedicated transport to an SHN facility to commence his 14-day isolation. He is asymptomatic, and had been tested while serving the notice, said the MOH.

Of the nine community cases, eight have no established links, part of the five per cent of new cases on Saturday which are unlinked, while one – no. 44700 – had been identified as a contact of a previously confirmed case, and had already been quarantined earlier.

The linked case is asymptomatic and was tested during quarantine to verify his status, added the ministry.

Of the unlinked community cases, three – no. 44630, 44631, and 44633 – were swabbed as they work in essential services, even though two are asymptomatic, said the MOH.

Another case – no. 44596 – was detected as part of the screening of individuals deployed to frontline COVID-19 operations.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining four cases – 44518, 44562, 44591, and 44680 –, three of whom had been tested under our enhanced community testing after being diagnosed with acute respiratory infection.

The ministry also said that the number of new cases in the community has increased from an average of six cases per day in the week before, to an average of nine per day in the past week.

Similarly, the number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from an average of three cases per day in the week before, to an average of five per day in the past week.

The ministry has placed 58 households residing at Block 111 Tampines Street 11 under active phone surveillance and is facilitating COVID-19 testing for them and their visitors as a precautionary measure, after it detected nine confirmed cases from two households residing at the block.

“In total, 116 residents and visitors have been tested, and all the results have come back negative for COVID-19,” it added.

Dormitories cleared of COVID-19

Dozens of clusters linked to foreign worker dorms have been identified thus far, including Singapore’s largest cluster of 2,795 cases linked to S11 Dormitory@Punggol, followed by Sungei Tengah Lodge with over 2,100 cases, Jurong Penjuru Dormitory with over 1,800 cases, Cassia @ Penjuru and Tuas View Dormitory with over 1,400 cases each.

These dorms, the top five clusters with the highest number of cases here, account for over 20 per cent of the total 41,978 infected workers living in dorms. Some 400,000 such workers live in such residences here.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on 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.

Amost 90% have fully recovered

With 348 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Saturday, 40,117 cases – 89.8 per cent of the total tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 204 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while two are in critical condition in the intensive care unit, up from one on Friday.

A total of 4,317 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.

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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