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15 of 18 new COVID cases in Singapore in community

A view of the ION Orchard shopping mall during coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Phase 2 (heightened alert) in Singapore May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Caroline Chia
A view of the ION Orchard shopping mall during Singapore's coronavirus disease Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) on 20 May, 2021. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday (1 June) reported 18 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, taking the country's total case count to 62,069.

Of them, 15 are local cases in the community. Eight are linked to previous infections, among whom six have already been placed on quarantine. Tuesday marks the 37th consecutive day with local cases reported.

Three remaining cases are imported, comprising two Singaporeans – including a four-year-old boy – who returned from India and the Philippines, and a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from the Philippines for a work project here. Test results revealed the latter is likely suffering from a past infection and shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA, which are no longer transmissible and infective to others.

"Amongst the new cases today, six are asymptomatic, and were detected from our proactive screening and surveillance, while 12 were symptomatic," said the MOH.

The ministry identified three new COVID-19 clusters, bringing the total of active clusters here to 43. It also announced the closure of all 26 Hua Zai Eating House outlets from 1 to 14 June, following the detection of COVID-19 cases linked to an outlet at Anchorvale.

The seven unlinked cases in the community are:

  • a 56-year-old Singaporean woman who is a homemaker

  • a 37-year-old Singaporean woman who is a resident at MINDSville@Napiri

  • a 72-year-old Singaporean man employed by SMN Elite Security Services as a security guard at Shriro House at 11 Chang Charn Road

  • an 82-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree

  • a 46-year-old Singaporean man who works as a front desk staff at Hotel Boss (fully vaccinated)

  • a 29-year-old Malaysian man who works as a carpark roving officer at TOP Parking

  • a 26 year-old Malaysian man who works as a delivery rider for Hougang Green's Pizza Hut

Separately, there is one case linked to another but is not considered part of an active cluster: a family member and household contact of the 56-year-old homemaker. The 30-year-old Singaporean man works as a technician at ST Engineering Innosparks.

The ministry noted that the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 176 in the week before to 125 in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from 30 in the week before to 27 in the past week.

A handful of new places have also been added to the list of public venues visited by infectious community cases, including The Seletar Mall, Tuas Amenity Centre Carpark Booth, Chien Chi Tow Healthcare at 78 Redhill Lane and Hougang Green's Pizza Hut outlet.

Three new clusters, 43 in total

  1. "Case 63399" cluster, 3 in total: It is named after the case number of a 35-year-old Malaysian man who is a kitchen crew at Serangoon Gardens's Kota Zheng Zong Bak Kut Teh and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 17 May. All three cases in the cluster are each other's household contacts, with the latest addition a 29-year-old Malaysian woman who works as a waitress at Bugis Junction's Chir Chir Restaurant. She was placed on quarantine on 17 May.

  2. "Case 63743" cluster, 3 in total: It is named after the case number of a 24-year-old Malaysian man who works at The Woodgrove's McDonald’s and was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 26 May. The third case in the cluster is a 28-year-old Malaysian man who works as a waiter at Acid Bar. As a close contact of the younger man, he was placed on quarantine on 31 May.

  3. "Case 63887" cluster, 3 in total: It is named after the case number of a 65-year-old Singaporean woman who is a homemaker and was confirmed for COVID-19 on 30 May. Two new cases added on Tuesday are her family members and household contacts who were placed on quarantine on 30 May. They are a four-year-old Singaporean girl who is a student at My First Skool at 332B Anchorvale Link and a 27-year-old Malaysian woman who is a homemaker.

    Prior to her quarantine, the girl had developed a cough and a fever on 26 and 27 May respectively, and sought medical treatment at a clinic on 28 May.

Hong Ye Group cleaners cluster: 1 new case, 22 in total

The first case linked to the cluster is a 31-year-old Singaporean man who is employed by the company as a cleaner at Changi Business Park. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 19 May.

The new case added is a 17-year-old Singaporean woman who works at Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital. She is a close contact of a previously reported case in the cluster.

'Case 63660' cluster: 1 new case, 7 in total

It is named after the case number of a 31-year-old Singaporean man who works as an ERA Realty Network property agent and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 23 May.

The new case added is a two-year-old Singaporean girl who is a student at Carpe Diem at 2 Ang Mo Kio Drive. As she is a family member of three previously reported cases in the cluster, she was placed on quarantine on 24 May.

Tektronix cluster: 1 new case, 4 in total

The cluster was first linked to a 50-year-old Singaporean man who works as an engineer at Tektronix Southeast Asia and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 24 May. The first three cases in the cluster are each other's workplace contacts.

The latest case added to the cluster is a 39-year-old Singaporean woman who is a homemaker. As she is a family member and household contact of the man, she was placed on quarantine on 25 May.

99% of total cases have recovered, 2 in ICU

With 22 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Tuesday, 61,481 cases – or 99 per cent of the total – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 217 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while two of them are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 338 patients – with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive – are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from the 33 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.

Among the 179 confirmed cases reported from 26 May to 1 June, 49 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 112 have tested negative, and 18 serology test results are pending.

In a national televised address on Monday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the government should be able to ease COVID-19 safe management restrictions after 13 June if the pandemic situation continues to improve and the number of community cases falls further.

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