COVID-19: Singapore confirms record 386 more cases, 1 additional death and 4 new clusters
SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (13 April) confirmed a record 386 new COVID-19 cases, as well as an additional death and four new clusters, bringing the total to 2,918 here.
The city-state’s ninth fatality, a 65-year-old Singaporean man, died from COVID-19 complications on Monday afternoon.
The four new clusters are linked to construction company CitiWall at 34 Kaki Bukit Crescent, ABC Hostel at 3 Jalan Kubor, Tech Park Crescent dormitory at 43 Tech Park Crescent and Kranji Dormitory at 17 Kranji Way.
The announcement also marks the fourth consecutive day with no imported cases and supersedes the previous single-day high of 287 cases announced last Thursday.
Of the 386 new cases, 280 are linked to clusters, the majority of whom are work permit holders living in foreign worker dormitories. The remaining 12 linked cases are linked to other cases, while 94 have no established links.
According to the MOH, the 65-year-old man who died had tested positive for the infection four days before his death. He was identified as patient 1836 and a local unlinked case.
The ministry said, “Khoo Teck Puat Hospital has reached out to his family and is extending assistance to them.”
In a separate statement, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) confirmed that case 2,561, among Monday’s 386 new cases, is a 77-year-old resident at Vanguard Healthcare’s Woodlands Care Home at 2 Woodlands Rise.
The resident tested positive for the infection on Sunday and is now in an isolation room at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, the AIC said.
The home has conducted a thorough cleaning and disinfection of the ward and affected areas while contact tracing is ongoing. A senior care centre co-located at the home will be closed as an added precaution, the AIC added.
26 more patients discharged; 29 in ICU
The MOH also confirmed that 26 more patients have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing the total of recovered cases to 586.
Most of the 1,158 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while 29 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit, down from 31 on Sunday.
Some 1,165 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19 are isolated and cared for at community facilities.
Monday’s update means at least 19 clusters linked to foreign worker dormitories have been identified thus far, including the largest cluster of 586 cases linked to S11 Dormitory@Punggol.
Those linked to S11 account for nearly half of the total 1,193 cases linked to clusters at foreign worker dorms and construction sites.
Eight such dorms have been gazetted as isolation areas, including the newly-confirmed cluster at Acacia Lodge and Cochrane Lodge II.
As of Monday noon, the MOH said it has identified 28,333 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 11,583 are currently quarantined, and 16,750 have completed their quarantine.
72,680 swab tests have also been carried out here, of which 47,486 of them involved unique individuals as of 7 April noon.
According to the MOH’s latest daily situation report, 583 cases have no established links. Some 9,000 of 65,000 stay-home notices that have been served are currently active.
(For more details on the breakdown of the clusters, read here.)
Measures to combat spread of coronavirus
The COVID-19 Temporary Measures Act, passed in Parliament on Tuesday, gives authorities the power to ban events and gatherings, or impose conditions on how they are conducted, during the “circuit breaker” period lasting till 4 May.
Those caught flouting the enhanced safe distancing measures will be given a composition fine of $300.
A first-time offender who is prosecuted under the Act can face a maximum fine of $10,000, or a jail term of up to six months, or both. A second-time or subsequent offender can face a maximum fine of $20,000, or a jail term of up to a year or both.
People who flout their five-day medical leave or stay-home notices and do not wear masks if they have to leave their place of accommodation to seek emergency medical treatment are also subjected to similar penalties.
Part of the “circuit breaker” measures – announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 3 April – include the closure of schools and most workplaces. Only essential services like food establishments, markets and supermarkets, transport, and key banking services will remain open during the month-long closure.
In a Good Friday address last week, Lee reiterated his call for Singaporeans to stay home, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in foreign worker dormitories as well as in the general population.
Over the weekend, the authorities issued a slew of measures, including the closure of beaches, facilities in parks and gardens and playfields.
Wearing masks was also made compulsory for commuters on public transport, as well as while those visiting supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies, and shopping malls.
Stadiums have also been closed, while parents are not allowed to drop off their children with grandparents on a daily basis.
Separately, all Singapore residents and long-term pass holders returning from overseas apart from Hubei province must serve the 14-day stay-home notice, while those returning from Hubei must serve a 14-day quarantine.
All short-term visitors are barred from entering or transiting via Singapore.
Last Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced an additional $5.1 billion Solidarity Budget to help businesses, workers and households.
The government’s response to COVID-19 will total $59.9 billion, or about 12 per cent of Singapore’s gross domestic product.
Close to 1.9m cases globally
To date, there are close to 1.9 million COVID-19 cases globally. More than 117,000 have died from the virus, with the US holding the record for the highest global death toll at almost 23,000.
At over half a million cases, the country also holds the record of having the largest number of patients globally, followed by Spain at over 169,000 cases, Italy at over 159,000, followed by France at over 132,000.
China, where the virus originated, has over 82,000 cases and last Tuesday reported no new coronavirus deaths for the first time since it started publishing figures in January.
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