Singaporean man, 26, among 386 new COVID-19 cases in S'pore, total crosses 38,000 mark

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed on Monday (8 June) 386 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the total to 38,296, as well as added seven more venues to the list of places visited by infectious community cases.

The ministry also announced four additional clusters linked to foreign worker dormitories at 216 Tagore Lane, 9B Tech Park Crescent, 16 Tech Park Crescent and 115 Tuas View Walk 1.

Of the 386 new cases, 384 are foreign workers living in such dorms, said the ministry, while two are classified as cases in the community.

Of the latter, one is a 26-year-old Singaporean man and the other is a 59-year-old Swiss man who holds a work pass. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for both men, who are among the one per cent of new cases with no established links.

“Both were symptomatic, and had been tested after seeking medical treatment at Public Health Preparedness clinics,” it said.

The ministry noted that the number of new cases in the community has increased from an average of three cases per day in the week before, to an average of nine per day in the past week.

Similarly, the number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from an average of two cases per day in the week before, to an average of four per day in the past week.

“This is partly due to our active surveillance and screening of targeted groups, which have picked up more cases in the past week,” said the MOH.

Dozens of clusters linked to foreign worker dorms have been identified thus far, including Singapore’s largest cluster of 2,722 cases linked to S11 Dormitory@Punggol, followed by Sungei Tengah Lodge with 2,031 cases, Jurong Penjuru Dormitory with 1,500 cases, and Tuas View Dormitory with 1,394 cases.

The four are among the 25 dorms that have been gazetted as isolation areas and account for some 21 per cent of 35,971 infected foreign workers living in dorms here.

Some 400,000 such workers live in dorms here in Singapore, of which about 10 per cent have been cleared of the infection, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo on 1 June during a press conference.

Over 20,000 infected foreign workers have recovered, added Teo.

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

IMM, Clementi Mall among seven new venues added to list

The ministry also added seven more public places to a list of locations – first published on 25 May – visited by infectious cases in the community for over 30 minutes.

They include the Jinjja Chicken outlet at The Clementi Mall, IMM in Jurong East, as well as two Giant supermarkets in Woodlands North Plaza, and Woodlands Mart.

Those who had been identified as close contacts of confirmed cases would already have been notified, said the MOH.

“There is no need to avoid places where confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been. The National Environment Agency will engage the management of affected premises to provide guidance on cleaning and disinfection,” it added.

As a precautionary measure, the ministry has advised those who had been at these locations during the specified timings to monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit.

They have also been urged by the ministry to visit the doctor if they develop symptoms such as cough, sore throat, as well as fever and loss of taste or smell, and inform the doctor of their exposure history.

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

Over 25,000 cases discharged

With 482 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Monday, a total of 25,368 have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 269 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while four are in critical condition in the intensive care unit, up from three on Sunday.

A total of 12,634 patients with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

The latest COVID-19 linked fatality – and the youngest by far – in Singapore is a 41-year-old Chinese male national who died last Thursday. The man, identified as case 11714, was confirmed to be infected on 22 April, but had recovered and was discharged on 17 May, said the MOH on Saturday.

“He collapsed on 4 June and the coroner has certified that the cause of death was massive pulmonary thromboembolism following SARS-CoV-2 infection,” it added.

Apart from 25 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, nine others who tested positive for the virus have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and two 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 1 June, the ministry has conducted 408,495 swab tests, of which 264,393 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 71,700 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 46,400 unique individuals swabbed per 1 million total population.

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