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5 locals among Singapore's 310 new COVID-19 cases; 3 more dorm clusters announced

A woman browses through footwear on sale at a stall in Singapore on June 19, 2020, as retail shops reopen due to the easing of restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. - Restaurants, retail shops and most other businesses reopened in Singapore on June 19 as the virus-hit city-state eased curbs, but the city-state's leader cautioned residents "not to go overboard celebrating". (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman browses through footwear on sale at a stall in Singapore on 19 June, 2020 (PHOTO: AFP via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 310 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Wednesday (22 July), taking the total to 48,744.

It also announced three additional clusters linked to foreign worker dormitories: 15 cases linked to 7 Kian Teck Crescent, seven to 2 Tech Park Crescent, and eight to 12 Tech Park Crescent.

Of the new cases, seven – including three Singaporeans – are classified as cases in the community, while six – including two Singaporeans and one permanent resident – are imported cases. The remaining 297 are foreign workers living in dorms.

Overall, only two per cent of the new cases are unlinked.

All but one of the seven community cases are asymptomatic, and were detected through proactive testing, said the ministry

Two community cases are linked to previous cases or clusters: one, case 48550, had been identified as a contact of a previously confirmed case, and had been placed on quarantine earlier.

She was tested during quarantine to determine her status, even though she is asymptomatic, said the MOH. The remaining case 48695 – who is linked to the Acacia Lodge cluster – was swabbed as part of efforts to screen individuals working in frontline COVID-19 operations, and had been detected before symptoms onset, it added.

All five unlinked community cases were detected from the proactive screening of workers in essential services who are living outside the dorms, said the MOH.

“Epidemiological investigations of the unlinked cases are in progress. In the meantime, all the identified close contacts of the cases have been isolated and placed on quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period so that we can detect asymptomatic cases,” it added.

Serological tests will be conducted on their household contacts to determine if these cases could have been infected by them, the MOH said.

Amongst six imported cases, half – cases 48551, 48552 and 48821 – are Singapore residents who returned to Singapore from India on 12 July, and from Kazakhstan on 10 July.

The other half – cases 48535, 48579 and 48820 – consists of work pass holders who are currently employed in Singapore. They had arrived in Singapore from the Philippines on 8 July and 10 July and were placed on 14-day stay-home notice upon their arrival here.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of 13 cases per day in the week before, to an average of nine per day in the past week, said the MOH.

Similarly, the number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased, from an average of eight cases per day in the week before, to an average of five per day in the past week.

Separately, the following dorms – and clusters – have been cleared and now house only recovered individuals and those who have recently tested negative for COVID-19 infection. They are:

  • Cochrane Lodge II (49 Admiralty Road West)

  • Hulett Dormitory (20 Senoko Drive)

  • Shaw Lodge (12 Shaw Road)

  • Tampines Dormitory (2 Tampines Place)

  • 31 Sungei Kadut Avenue; and

  • 230 Woodlands Industrial Park E5

As of Monday, about 247,000 workers have either recovered, or have been tested to be free from the virus. Of Singapore’s total COVID-19 tally, 45,944 – some 94 per cent – are foreign workers living in dorms here.

The ministry also added two new places to a list of public venues visited by community cases while infectious: they are Kopitiam at Pasir Ris West Plaza and Changi Village Hawker Centre.

Some 92% recovered, 0 in ICU

With 211 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Wednesday, 44,795 cases – 91.9 per cent of the total tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 150 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 3,772 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.

“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 20 July, the ministry has conducted 1,170,049 swab tests, of which 571,496 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 205,300 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 100,300 unique individuals swabbed per 1 million total population.

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