No Singapore residents among 218 new COVID-19 infections; 1 community case

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed on Monday (22 June) 218 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the total to 42,313, as well as 648 more recoveries.

The ministry also confirmed an additional cluster of eight cases linked to a dormitory at 204 Tagore Lane.

There are no Singapore residents among the new cases, while 217 of them are foreign workers living in such dorms. The remaining case is an Indian work permit holder classified as a case in the community.

The 33-year-old male Indian national, identified as case 42320, was picked up due to proactive screening of those working in essential services, said the MOH.

The man, who did not present any symptoms, has also been classified as a local unlinked case, part of the two per cent of new cases on Monday with no established links.

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

The ministry also added three more places to a list of public venues visited by infectious community cases for over 30 minutes, first published on 25 May. They are Sheng Siong Supermarket outlets at 7 Jurong West Avenue 5 and 19 Serangoon North Avenue, as well as NTUC FairPrice at 447A Jalan Kayu.

The list – which excludes residences, workplaces, healthcare facilities, and public transport – will be updated on a rolling 14-day basis or one incubation period.

Dozens of clusters linked to foreign worker dorms have been identified thus far, including Singapore’s largest cluster of 2,774 cases linked to S11 Dormitory@Punggol, followed by Sungei Tengah Lodge with 2,046 cases, Jurong Penjuru Dormitory with 1,801 cases, Cassia @ Penjuru with 1,472 cases and Tuas View Dormitory with 1,409 cases.

These dorms, the top five clusters with the highest number of cases here, account for some 24 per cent of the total 39,908 infected workers living in dorms. Some 400,000 such workers live in such residences here.

As of 15 June, about 75,000 workers living in dorms have been cleared of COVID-19 and are staying in cleared premises.

Separately, the Ministry of Manpower had published a forecast of dorms and blocks to be cleared from now till August onwards on its website last week.

(For more information on the clusters in Singapore, read here.)

Over 35,500 patients have recovered

With 648 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Monday, 35,590 cases – some 84 per cent of the total tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 200 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 6,497 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, 10 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 three, including the 44-year-old male Indian national who died on 8 June, 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 15 June, the ministry has conducted 576,189 swab tests, of which 340,894 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 101,100 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 59,800 unique individuals swabbed per 1 million total population.

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.

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