3 locals among 334 new COVID-19 cases in S'pore; 95 more dorms cleared

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 334 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of Wednesday (29 July), taking the country’s total to 51,531.

Of them, three – including two Singaporeans – are classified as cases in the community, while four – including one Singaporean – are imported cases. All are asymptomatic.

The remaining 327 are foreign workers living in dormitories.

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

All three cases in the community – no. 51369, 51609 and 51610 – had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had been placed on quarantine earlier, said the MOH. The latter is linked to the cluster at 19 Kian Teck Avenue.

They were tested during quarantine to determine their status, it added.

Amongst the four imported cases, case 51546 is a Singaporean who returned to Singapore from India on 17 July. Another case – no. 51536 – is a work pass holder who is currently employed in Singapore, and had arrived from the Philippines on 15 July.

The remaining two – 51340 and 51560 – are student’s pass holders who arrived from India on 14 July, and from Indonesia on 17 July.

“All of them had been placed on 14-day stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore, and were serving their notice at dedicated facilities. They had been tested while serving their notice,” said the MOH.

It added that the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of nine cases per day in the week before, to an average of four per day in the past week.

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

The ministry also announced the clearance of 25 dorms, which are now considered inactive clusters.

In a separate press release, the Ministry of Manpower announced that 95 more dormitories have been cleared of COVID-19 as of Wednesday. These comprise one purpose-built dorm (PBD), 78 factory-converted dorms, and 16 construction temporary quarters.

In addition, 12 blocks for recovered workers (BRWs) in six PBDs have been cleared. Of the 12 BRWs cleared, one is from Kian Teck Hostel. With this, the entire Kian Teck Hostel has been declared cleared of COVID-19.

This takes the total number to 975 dorms and 64 BRWs in 17 PBDs cleared of COVID-19. As of Tuesday, about 262,000 workers – approximately 85 per cent – have either recovered or have been tested to be free from the virus.

Authorities here expect to clear all dorms and workers residing in them by 7 August, with the exception of 17 standalone blocks in eight purpose-built dorms, which serve as quarantine facilities as well as 28,000 workers still serving out their isolation period.

Of Singapore’s total tally, 48,665 – 94.4 per cent – are foreign workers living in dorms.

Over 46,000 recovered, zero in ICU

With 205 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Wednesday, 46,098 cases – some 89.4 per cent of the tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 184 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 5,222 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 27 July, the ministry has conducted 1,321,094 swab tests, of which 616,310 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 231,800 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 108,100 unique individuals swabbed per 1 million total population.

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