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COVID-19: Singapore confirms 125 new cases, 3 Singaporeans and 1 PR among them

SINGAPORE - JUNE 20:  People wearing protective masks wait to cross a street at Orchard Road shopping belt on June 20, 2020 in Singapore. From June 19, Singapore started to further ease the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions by allowing social gatherings up to five people, re-opening of retail outlets and dining in at food and beverage outlets, subjected to safe distancing. Parks, beaches, sports amenities and public facilities in the housing estates will also reopen. However, large scale events, religious congregations, libraries, galleries and theatres will remain closed.  (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
People wearing protective masks wait to cross a street at Orchard Road shopping belt in Singapore. (PHOTO: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 125 new COVID-19 cases as of Thursday noon (9 July), bringing the total to 45,422.

Of them, 21 are classified as cases in the community, including three Singaporeans and one permanent resident. One other is an imported case, while the remaining 103 are foreign workers living in dormitories.

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

The imported case is a Singapore PR who returned to Singapore from India on 23 June. She had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and had been tested while serving SHN.

Of the community cases, fifteen of the cases are asymptomatic, and were all detected through testing, said the MOH.

Ten of them are linked to previous cases or clusters. Of these, five (cases 45369, 45370, 45371, 45420 and 45465) had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had been tested during their quarantine to determine their status. The remaining five cases (cases 45357, 45358, 45361, 45362 and 45366) are all asymptomatic and were detected as a result of screening of workers in essential services.

Of the 11 unlinked cases, six were detected from proactive testing. Four of them (cases 45360, 45364, 45365 and 45422) were tested as they work in essential services, even though they are asymptomatic. The other two (cases 45356 and 45363) were swabbed as part of efforts to screen individuals working in frontline COVID-19 operations.

Of the five other unlinked cases, four (cases 45345, 45347, 45354 and 45373) were swabbed 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 are ongoing for these cases, as well as the remaining case (Case 45379).

The ministry said the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of nine cases per day in the week before, to an average of 16 per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased, from an average of four cases per day in the week before, to an average of eight per day in the past week.

The MOH also announced that 123 residents and visitors related to Block 111 Tampines Street 11 have tested negative for COVID-19.

The ministry announced on 2 July that it has placed 58 households residing at the block under active phone surveillance and would be facilitating COVID-19 testing for them and their visitors as a precautionary measure, after nine confirmed cases from two households residing there were detected.

All infected individuals from these two households have been isolated earlier and are recovering in hospitals or community care facilities. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing, but thus far there is no evidence of spread beyond the two households, said the MOH.

Death from non-COVID-19 cause; additions to list

A 38-year-old Bangladeshi man with COVID-19 infection has died and the preliminary cause was cardiorespiratory failure, the MOH said.

It was the second such death of a COVID-19 case reported in two days.

The man, case 43688, died on Tuesday. “He had been conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital on 28 June after suffering a seizure, and subsequently developed intracranial haemorrhage,” the MOH said.

Some 92% have fully recovered

With 322 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Thursday, 41,645 cases – 91.7 per cent of the total tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 197 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 3,554 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, 14 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 the 48-year-old male Indian national, 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 6 July, the ministry has conducted 866,414 swab tests, of which 467,008 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 152,000 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 81,900 unique individuals swabbed per 1 million total population.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Manpower said in a media release that 384 more dormitories have been cleared of COVID-19 with effect from Tuesday.

These comprise one purpose-built dormitory, 345 factory-converted dormitories and 38 construction temporary quarters. In addition, 23 blocks for recovered workers in 5 purpose-built dormitories have been cleared.

This takes the total number to 625 dormitories and 44 blocks for recovered workers in 17 purpose-built dormitories cleared of COVID-19.

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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