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31 new COVID cases in Singapore, including 9 imported; MOH revises count

SINGAPORE - 2020/07/25: People wearing face masks are scanned for their temperatures before entering a shopping mall  along Orchard Road, a famous shopping district in Singapore.As of 26 July 2020, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore are at 50,369. (Photo by Maverick Asio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
People wearing face masks are scanned for their temperatures before entering a shopping mall along Orchard Road on 25 July, 2020. (PHOTO: LightRocket via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 31 new cases as of Monday (21 September) afternoon, bringing the country’s total to 57,606.

The MOH also announced the removal of a case from the case tally, following further investigations.

“Case 57679’s first COVID-19 test had been borderline positive. As a precautionary measure, MOH had classified him as a COVID-19 case and taken all necessary public health actions while he was being re-tested,” the ministry added.

Two subsequent tests came back negative for COVID-19. Investigations by laboratory experts and an expert panel assessed that his first test result was false-positive, the MOH said.

“All his household contacts had been swabbed and their test results have also come back negative. Neither the case nor his contacts had been exposed to risk of infection due to the initial classification,” it added.

Of the 31 new cases, all but one are asymptomatic and they were proactively detected, said the MOH.

There are no cases in the community and nine imported cases, including seven who arrived from India, who have been placed on the stay-home notice upon their arrival here.

Amongst the 22 remaining cases residing in foreign worker dormitories, 16 had been identified earlier as contacts of previous cases and had already been quarantined, said the MOH.

Overall, 10 per cent of the new cases have no established links.

The ministry noted that the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past two weeks.

Similarly, the number of unlinked cases in the community has also remained stable at an average of fewer than one case per day in the past two weeks.

Amongst the nine imported cases, one is a permanent resident who returned to Singapore from India on 9 September.

Four are work pass or permit holders currently employed in Singapore who arrived from India on 9 September and Iran on 15 September.

Another two cases are dependant’s pass holders who arrived from India on 9 September and Iran on 15 September. The remaining two cases are student’s pass holders who arrived from India on 9 September.

All of them were tested while serving their notice at dedicated facilities.

6 cases in dorms detected via surveillance testing

Amongst the 22 cases residing in dorms, 16 had been identified earlier as contacts of previous cases and were tested during quarantine, said the MOH.

The remaining six cases were detected through surveillance testing, such as the bi-weekly rostered routine testing of workers living in dorms.

Besides the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, or swabbing, serological tests have also been conducted to determine if some of the cases are current or past infections.

“The serological test results for tow cases have come back positive so far, which indicate likely past infection,” said the MOH.

The ministry also announced the closure of the cluster at Kian Teck Hostel as there have been no cases linked to it for the past two incubation periods, or 28 days.

As of last Friday, about 5,700 workers who are required to undergo the routine testing have yet to do so, said the Ministry of Manpower, Economic Development Board, Building and Construction Authority, and Health Promotion Board in a joint statement on the same day.

“This is a significant reduction from the 13,000 workers from last week, and we would like to thank employers for their cooperation,” the authorities had said.

Of Singapore’s COVID-19 tally, 54,333 – or 94.3 per cent – are foreign workers living in dorms.

99% of total cases have recovered

With 60 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Monday, 57,241 cases – or 99.3 per cent of the total – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 36 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 302 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.

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