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COVID-19: Singapore confirms 188 new cases, 10 in the community

SINGAPORE - JUNE 30:  People walk past a People's Action Party poster along the street on June 30, 2020 in Singapore. Singapore will go to the polls on July 10 as the ruling party, People's Action Party seeks a fresh mandate amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As of June 29, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 43,361.  (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
People walking past a General Election poster in Singapore. (PHOTO: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 188 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of Thursday (2 July) noon, bringing the total to 44,310.

There is one imported case today – a Filipina who had returned to Singapore from the United Kingdom on 20 June. A work pass holder who is currently employed in Singapore, she was placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore and had been conveyed in a dedicated transport to an SHN facility to commence her 14-day isolation. She was asymptomatic when she was tested while serving SHN.

A total of 10 are classified as community cases, of which there are seven Singaporeans and one permanent residents. Among them, three (Cases 44193, 44256 and 44299) had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases and had already been quarantined earlier, the ministry said.

“Another three cases (Cases 44261, 44262 and 44263) were detected due to our proactive surveillance of persons working at dormitories, or those deployed to frontline COVID-19 operations, even though they are asymptomatic. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining two cases (Cases 44167 and 44199) who had been swabbed under our enhanced community testing after being diagnosed with acute respiratory infection.”

The other two community cases are work permit holders (Cases 44258 and 44298), who had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had already been quarantined earlier. They were tested during quarantine to verify their status.

Details of cases on 2 July. (Table: Ministry of Health)
Details of cases on 2 July. (Table: Ministry of Health)

Dormitories cleared of COVID-19

The Health Ministry also announced two new clusters – both dormitories.

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 2,055 cases, Jurong Penjuru Dormitory with 1,809 cases, Cassia @ Penjuru with 1,474 cases and Tuas View Dormitory with 1,409 cases.

These dorms, the top five clusters with the highest number of cases here, account for over 20 per cent of the total infected workers living in dorms. Some 400,000 such workers live in such residences here.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday (30 June) that 78 more dorms have been cleared of COVID-19. These comprise 72 factory-converted dormitories and six construction temporary quarters.

In addition, three blocks for recovered workers in three purpose-built dormitories have been cleared.

This takes the total number to 241 dorms and 21 blocks for recovered workers in 14 purpose-built dorms cleared of COVID-19.

As of 28 June, 87,000 foreign workers have been cleared of COVID-19, including those residing in government-provided accommodation facilities. A forecast of dormitories and blocks to be cleared from now till August onwards has been published on the ministry’s website.

Over 39,400 have fully recovered

With 418 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Thursday, 39,429 cases have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 201 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 4,654 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, 12 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, including the 48-year-old male Indian national, 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 22 June, the ministry has conducted 684,359 swab tests, of which 376,749 were done on unique individuals. This translates to around 120,100 swabs conducted per 1 million total population, and about 66,100 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.

Singapore’s General Election will take place on 10 July during this phase.

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