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4 new COVID clusters, 22 new cases in S'pore including NCID and National Heart Centre nurses

Tables at a hawker centre are set up to allow dining-in for a group size up to 2 pax on June 20, 2021 in Singapore. On June 21, Singapore will enter into a calibrated easing of social management measures as local community COVID-19 cases remain under control. Social gathering and interactions shall remain for group sizes up to 5 pax, while dining-in at food establishment will be allowed to resume with group sizes of up to 2 pax. Work from home remains the default arrangement. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Tables at a hawker centre are set up to allow dining-in for a group size up to two people on 20 June, 2021 in Singapore. (PHOTO: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (23 June) confirmed 22 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, taking the country's total case count to 62,470.

Thirteen are local cases in the community. Of them, eight – out of ten linked cases – had been quarantined earlier. Wednesday marks the 59th consecutive day with local cases reported.

The nine remaining cases are imported, including four returning permanent residents.

"Amongst the new cases today, 10 are asymptomatic, and were detected from our proactive screening and surveillance, while 12 were symptomatic," said the MOH.

The three unlinked cases are:

  • an 81-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree (received first dose of vaccine)

  • a 34-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a nurse at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, and had interacted with COVID-19 patients (fully vaccinated)

  • a 69-year-old Singaporean woman who is a retiree (received first dose of vaccine)

Separately, an 86-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree was identified as linked to a previously reported case but is not considered a part of any cluster here. The man received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on 11 June.

The ministry noted that the number of new cases in the community has increased from 77 cases in the week before to 98 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 19 cases in the week before to 21 cases in the past week.

4 new COVID clusters, bringing total to 39

The ministry also identified four new clusters, as well as announced the closure of three clusters linked to Marina Bay Sands Casino dealers, McDonald’s delivery riders and "Case 63543". This brings the current number of active COVID-19 clusters in Singapore to 39.

"Case 64349" cluster (2 new, 4 in total): The cluster is named after the case number of a 24-year-old Singaporean man who works as a financial consultant with Prudential and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 19 June.

One of the two new additions is a 46-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a part-time cleaner at Nihon Premium Clinic at Novena Medical Centre. As she had been identified as a close contact of several cases in the cluster, she was placed on quarantine on 21 June.

The other case is a 26-year-old Singaporean man who works as a kitchen staff member at ION Orchard's Monster Curry outlet.

"Case 64359" cluster (2 new, 4 in total): The cluster is named after the case number of a 38-year-old Filippino woman who is a foreign domestic worker and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 20 June.

One of the two new additions is an eight-year-old Singaporean boy who is a student at Alexandra Primary School and a household contact of the woman. He was placed on quarantine on 20 June.

The other, a four-year-old Singaporean boy who is a student at Tanjong Pagar Plaza's My First Skool branch. He is a household contact of the woman, and a family member of the older boy.

"Case 64135" cluster (1 new, 3 in total): The cluster is named after the case number of a 57-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a promoter at ION Orchard's Guardian outlet. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 10 June.

The latest addition to the cluster is a 62-year-old Singaporean man who works as an electrical building contractor at Seng Tat Enterprises. As he had been identified as a family member and household contact of a case in the cluster, he was placed on quarantine on 13 June.

"Case 64374" cluster (1 new, 3 in total): The cluster is named after the case number of a 26-year-old female PR who works as an analyst at Deutsche Bank and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 21 June.

The latest addition to the cluster is a 29-year-old Singaporean man who works as an analyst at CrimsonLogic. As he had been identified as a close contact of a case in the cluster, he was placed on quarantine on 21 June.

Bukit Merah View market cluster: 1 new case, 82 in total

The cluster was first linked to a 74-year-old Singaporean man who works at a sundry store at the market. The fully-vaccinated man was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 9 June.

The new case is a 34-year-old female India national who works as a cashier at Mustafa Shopping Centre. As she had been identified as a family member and household contact of several cases in the cluster, she was placed on quarantine on 14 June.

119 Bukit Merah View cluster: 1 new case, 7 in total

The cluster was first linked to a 46-year-old Singaporean woman who is a homemaker and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 18 June. The woman is fully vaccinated.

The newest addition is a 50-year-old Singaporean woman who is employed by CSP Maintenance as a cleaner at Enabling Village at 20 Lengkok Bahru. As she had been identified as a close contact of a case in the cluster, she was placed on quarantine on 21 June.

90 Redhill Close cluster: 1 new case, 4 in total

The cluster was first linked to a 79-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 21 June.

The newest addition is a 31-year-old Singaporean man who works as a nurse at National Heart Centre Singapore and a Redhill Close resident. The fully vaccinated man was placed on quarantine on 21 June after being identified as a family member and household contact of cases in the cluster.

Among the nine imported cases, four are PRs who returned from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the UK. Another is a student’s pass holder who arrived from Myanmar, while two others are work pass holders who arrived from France and Malaysia.

The remaining two imported cases are a work permit holder – a foreign domestic worker – who arrived from Indonesia, and a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from the same country for her upcoming marriage to her Singaporean fiancé.

99% of total cases have recovered, 5 in ICU

With 15 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Wednesday, 62,113 cases – or 99.4 per cent of the total – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 141 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while five of them are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 181 patients – with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive – are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from the 35 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.

Among the 131 confirmed cases reported from 17 to 23 June, 42 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 74 have tested negative, and 15 serology test results are pending.

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