SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 61 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday (Aug 11), including two in the community and three imported infections, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
It is the lowest number of daily cases since Apr 2, when 49 new cases were reported. Tuesday’s cases bring the total number of infections in the country to 55,353.
Both community cases reported on Tuesday were Singaporeans, said MOH. The three imported cases were placed on stay-home notices upon arrival in Singapore from India.
ONE-YEAR-OLD GIRL AMONG COMMUNITY CASES
The two community cases – a 30-year-old Singaporean man and a 1-year-old Singaporean girl – are linked to previous cases, said the ministry.
“(They) are family members who had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases,” MOH added.
“They had been placed on quarantine, and were tested when they reported having symptoms.”
Overall, the number of new community cases has remained stable at an average of two per day in the past two weeks. The number of unlinked community cases has also remained stable at an average of one per day in the past two weeks.
“We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme,” said the ministry.
Two FairPrice Finest outlets were among the new locations added to the list of public places visited by COVID-19 community cases during their infectious period.
(Table: MOH)
MAP: All the places that COVID-19 community cases visited while they were infectious
ALL THREE IMPORTED CASES FROM INDIA
The three imported infections arrived from India. One of the imported cases was a three-year-old girl who is a long-term visit pass holder and arrived in Singapore on Jul 28.
The other two cases were a long-term visit pass holder and a dependant’s pass holder who arrived on Jul 29 and Jul 30 respectively.
All three cases were placed on stay-home notices upon arrival in Singapore and were tested while serving their stay-home notices at dedicated facilities.
37 CLUSTERS CLOSED
The remaining 56 COVID-19 cases reported on Tuesday were work permit holders living in dormitories.
MOH said the inter-agency task force has completed the testing of all workers in the dormitories, with about 22,500 workers still serving out their quarantine period.
“These workers will be tested when their isolation ends, and we expect the case counts to remain high in the coming days, before tapering down thereafter,” the ministry said.
Another 37 dormitories have been cleared of COVID-19, and now house only recovered individuals and those who have recently tested negative for COVID-19, MOH reported.
“As such, the clusters have now been closed,” the ministry added.
List of COVID-19 clusters in dorms that were reported to be closed on Aug 11, 2020. (Source: MOH)
AUTHORITIES MONITORING MIGRANT WORKERS DORMITORIES
On Tuesday afternoon, authorities said they are monitoring migrant worker dormitories to manage the risk of new COVID-19 outbreaks, even after the completion of testing of all migrant workers staying in dormitories.
“There have already been instances where new cases of COVID-19 cases are detected at previously cleared dormitories,” said a joint news release by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB).
Safeguards are also in place to manage the risk of new COVID-19 infections, such as requiring workers to report their temperatures or any symptoms of acute respiratory illness.
READ: COVID-19: Authorities monitoring migrant worker dorms to manage risk of outbreaks after new cases reported
MOM announced on Tuesday night that all dormitories have been cleared of COVID-19, with the exception of 17 standalone blocks in six purpose-built dormitories serving as quarantine facilities.
It added that all workers living in dormitories have either recovered or have been tested to be free of COVID-19, except for the 22,500 workers in isolation in centralised government quarantine facilities and the remaining 17 standalone blocks.
“With the completion of dormitory clearance, and BCA giving permission for all construction firms to resume work from Aug 10, 2020, the majority of foreign workers (including dormitory residents) are now able to resume work,” said MOM.
519 MORE PATIENTS DISCHARGED
An additional 519 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 50,128 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.
There are currently 104 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Most are stable or improving, and none is in the intensive care unit, MOH said.
A total of 5,094 cases are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are people who have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.
Twenty-seven have died from complications due to COVID-19.
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