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COVID-19: 87 new cases detected in Singapore, new cluster at Kaki Bukit dorm

People seen along Orchard Road on 19 June 2020, the first day of Phase 2 of Singapore's re-opening. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
People seen along Orchard Road on 19 June 2020, the first day of Phase 2 of Singapore's re-opening. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 87 more COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of noon on Sunday (23 August), taking the country’s total to 56,353.

Of the latest cases, one is in the community, 13 are imported and the remaining 73 are workers residing in dormitories who are undergoing quarantine.

The sole community case (No. 56372) is a 38-year-old Vietnamese man who was detected under enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at first presentation to a doctor. Epidemiological investigations of the case are in progress.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at an average of two cases per day in the past two weeks. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past two weeks.

Amongst the 13 imported cases, five (cases 56399, 56400, 56401, 56402 and 56403) are Singapore permanent residents who returned to Singapore from India on 11 August. Two (cases 56396 and 56397) are dependant’s pass and long-term visit pass holders who arrived from India and the Philippines on 11 August. Two (cases 56374 and 56375) are work permit holders currently employed in Singapore who arrived from the Philippines on 11 August.

Another two (cases 56373 and 56404) are student’s pass holders who arrived from India on 11 August. The remaining two (cases 56369 and 56408) are short-term visit pass holders who were allowed entry into Singapore as one has been seeking medical treatment in Singapore and the other is the parent and caregiver. They arrived from Bangladesh on 21 August.

All the cases had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore.

There are currently about 13,500 workers who are still serving out their quarantine period. These workers will be tested when their quarantine ends.

A new cluster at Homestay Lodge at Kaki Bukit Avenue has been found with five cases.

Around 4,800 workers have been issued a Stay-Home Notice (SHN) as a precautionary measure to determine their health status, the authorities said on Sunday, a day after a new COVID-19 cluster was reported at Sungei Tengah Lodge.

Over 54,000 cases discharged

With 244 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Sunday, 54,164 cases – some 96 per cent of the tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 76 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 2,086 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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