Singapore confirms 5-month low of 31 new COVID-19 cases, including one imported

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed a five-month low of 31 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Tuesday (25 August), taking its total to 56,435.

This is the city-state’s lowest daily tally since 23 cases were reported on 22 March.

Of the new cases, one is imported and 30 are foreign workers living in dormitories, of which 26 had been identified earlier as contacts of previous cases, and had already been quarantined.

There are no community cases.

Overall, six per cent of them have no established links.

The lone imported case – no. 56496 – is a permanent resident who returned to Singapore from India on 13 August, said the MOH.

She had been placed on the 14-day stay-home notice upon arrival here and was tested while she was serving it at a dedicated facility.

The ministry noted that the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at an average of two cases per day in the past two weeks. Similarly, 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, it added.

The remaining four of 30 cases living in foreign worker dorms were detected through surveillance testing, such as the bi-weekly rostered routine testing of those living in dorms and of those with acute respiratory infection symptoms, said the MOH

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

“The serological test results for two cases have come back positive so far, which indicate likely past infections,” it said.

Of Singapore’s total COVID-19 tally, 53,349 – or 94.5 per cent – are foreign workers living in dorms.

Over 54,800 cases discharged; no patient in ICU

With 230 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Tuesday, 54,816 cases – some 97 per cent of the tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 78 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 1,514 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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