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2 Singaporeans among 191 new COVID-19 cases, 304 discharged

People wearing protective masks walk along Orchard Road on 20 June, 2020 in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
People wearing protective masks walk along Orchard Road on 20 June, 2020 in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — There were 191 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of Wednesday (24 June) noon, bringing the total to 42,623, and 304 more patients who were discharged, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported.

Seven infections are classified as community cases including two Singaporeans, two work pass holders and three work permit holders. The remaining 184 new cases are foreign workers living in dormitories.

Of the community cases, four had been picked up as a result of proactive surveillance and screening. The remaining three cases had been tested when they sought medical treatment.

The Singaporean cases included a 66-year-old man, case 42616, working at the Leo dormitory who was tested as part of efforts to proactively screen persons working at dormitories.

The other Singaporean, case 42594, was a 31-year-old male nurse who was working at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) when he developed symptoms. The man, who is classified as an unlinked case, was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on Tuesday, and is currently warded at NTFGH.

Amongst the five work pass and work permit holders, a 36-year-old male Indian national, case 42620, and his 30-year-old compatriot, case 42652, are asymptomatic, but were detected as part of screening of workers in essential services.

Another case, a 23-year-old male Indian national, case 42617, was swabbed as he works at a dorm, even though he is also asymptomatic. He is linked to the Avery Lodge cluster.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining two cases, a male Myanmar national, 37, and a male Indian national, 35, (cases 42481 and 42498 respectively), who have been linked to the new Keppel Shipyard cluster.

Besides the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, serological tests were conducted to determine if some of these cases are current or past infections. The serological test result for the 36-year-old male Indian national has come back positive, which indicates likely past infection. The test results for the remaining cases are pending.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of seven cases per day in the week before, to an average of four per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at an average of two per day in the past two weeks.

Apart from the Keppel Shipyard cluster with a total of three cases, there were also seven cases forming a cluster at a dorm at 52 Tech Park Crescent.

On Wednesday, there was no new place or date entry added to the MOH list of public venues visited by infectious community cases for over 30 minutes.

First published on 25 May, the list – which excludes residences, workplaces, healthcare facilities, and public transport – will be updated on a rolling 14-day basis or one incubation period.

(TABLE: List of public places visited by COVID-19 cases from 10-19 June 2020/Ministry of Health)
(TABLE: List of public places visited by COVID-19 cases from 10-19 June 2020/Ministry of Health)

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 2,066 cases, Jurong Penjuru Dormitory with 1,816 cases, Cassia @ Penjuru with 1,475 cases and Tuas View Dormitory with 1,410 cases.

These dorms, the top five clusters with the highest number of cases here, account for over 23 per cent of the total 40,207 infected workers living in dorms. Some 400,000 such workers live in such residences here.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday that 31 more dorms have been cleared of COVID-19: 27 factory-converted dormitories and four construction temporary quarters.

Four blocks for recovered workers in three purpose-built dorms have also been cleared, the MOM added.

This takes the total number to 163 dorms and 18 blocks for recovered workers in 11 purpose-built dorms cleared of COVID-19.

As of Monday, about 79,000 foreign workers have been cleared of COVID-19, including those residing in government-provided accommodation facilities, said the MOM. Last week, a forecast of dormitories and blocks to be cleared from now till August onwards was published on the ministry’s website.

85% have fully recovered

With 304 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Wednesday, 36,299 cases – some 85 per cent of the total tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 189 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while at least one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 6,109 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, 11 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 a 48-year-old male Indian national who died on Tuesday, 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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