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COVID-19: 30 new cases in Singapore, police force admin officer and family member infected

People seen waiting in the rain to cross a street in Singapore on 10 January. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
People seen waiting in the rain to cross a street in Singapore on 10 January. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed the detection of 30 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore as of noon on Sunday (17 January), taking the country’s total case count to 59,113.

Two of the cases are local transmissions and are from the community, with no new cases detected at the migrant worker dormitories. There are also 28 imported cases, all of whom have been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) since their arrival in Singapore.

Community infections linked to previous cases

Among the two cases in the community, Case 59365 is a 44-year-old Singaporean man who works as an administrative officer at the Singapore Police Force (2 Mowbray Road). He developed a dry throat on 7 January but had not sought medical treatment.

He was tested on 15 January as part of the special testing operations commenced by the MOH at his workplace following the confirmation of Case 592801. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 16 January and he was conveyed in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). His serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Case 59387 is a 44-year-old Singaporean woman who is a family member of Case 59365, and a homemaker. She developed a fever and chills on 9 January, and subsequently loss of smell and taste on 13 January, but had not sought medical treatment.

As part of the ministry’s contact tracing efforts, she was contacted by the MOH on 16 January following the confirmation of Case 59365, and was tested for COVID-19 when she reported these symptoms. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day, and she was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in an ambulance. Her serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing, said the MOH.

The ministry added, “We strongly urge everyone to do their part to reduce the risk of transmission. Those who are unwell, including those showing early or mild symptoms, should be socially responsible and seek medical attention immediately and stay at home to prevent the spread of illness to others.”

Imported cases

Among the 28 imported cases:

• Cases 59371 and 59373 are Singaporeans and Case 59384 is a Singapore permanent resident who returned from India, Indonesia and the UAE.

• Cases 59358, 59359 and 59367 are dependant’s pass holders who arrived from India and the UAE.

• Cases 59353 and 59377 are long-term visit pass holders who arrived from India.

• Cases 59354, 59360, 59362, 59375 and 59381 are work pass holders who arrived from India, Lebanon, the Philippines and the UAE.

• 14 are work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh and India, of whom one (Case 59370) is a foreign domestic worker.

• Case 59374 is a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from India to visit her Singaporean child.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at eight cases per week in the past two weeks. The ministry added that the number of unlinked cases in the community has decreased from five cases in the week before to four cases in the past week.

99% of total cases have recovered, none in ICU

With 62 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Sunday, 58,846 cases – or 99.5 per cent of the total – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 49 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, and none is in the intensive care unit.

A total of 189 patients – with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive – are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from 29 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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