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COVID-19: Singapore confirms 30 new cases, 3 in community

People flock to the Marina Bay area to watch light shows to usher in the new year amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore on January 1, 2021. (PHOTO: Zakaria Zainal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
People flock to the Marina Bay area to watch light shows to usher in the new year amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore on January 1, 2021. (PHOTO: Zakaria Zainal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed the detection of 30 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore as of noon on Friday (1 January), taking the country’s total case count to 58,629.

In a news release, the MOH said that there are three new infections within the community – one is currently unlinked and two are linked to previous cases.

Case 58870

Case 58870 is a 14-year-old Singaporean girl who is a friend of Case 58843. On 27 December 2020, she visited Case 58843 at her home for a few hours while Case 58810 – a Singapore permanent resident who works as a marine surveyor – was present as well. As a result, she was identified as a close contact of Case 58810 on 29 December, and placed on quarantine.

She developed a fever the next day and was conveyed to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in an ambulance, where she was tested for COVID-19. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 31 December. Her serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

She is a student of Raffles Girls’ School, but had not been in school since October 2020.

Case 58872

Case 58872 is a 52-year-old Singaporean woman who is a family member of Cases 58817 – a Singaporean who works as a harbour pilot – 58840 and 58841, and household member of Cases 58840 and 58841.

She developed symptoms on 28 December and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic the next day. She was advised by the doctor to take a COVID-19 test, but she did not do so. She was also given five days’ medical leave, during which she had to remain at home. As she was identified as a close contact of Cases 58840 and 58841, she was placed on quarantine on 31 December and reported being unwell when contacted by MOH.

She was immediately conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in an ambulance, where she was tested. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on the same day. Her serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection. She works as a client analyst at Deutsche Bank (One Raffles Quay) but does not interact with clients or external parties. Her last day of work was 28 December.

“We urge everyone to take the COVID-19 test when advised by your doctor, so as to allow us to identify infected individuals early and to quickly contain further spread,” the ministry said.

Case 58874

Case 58874 is a 53-year-old Japanese man who is a work pass holder. He arrived in Singapore from Japan on 26 November and was placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) at a dedicated facility until 10 December. A pre-departure test he had taken on 24 November was negative for COVID-19 infection, and his test on 6 December during SHN came back negative too.

He was asymptomatic, but his infection was detected when he took a COVID-19 pre-departure test on 31 December. This was in preparation for his return to Japan. His result came back positive for COVID-19 infection that night and he was conveyed to NCID the next day. His serological test result has come back positive, the ministry said. He is employed at Kurosawa & Partners Pte Ltd (18 Robinson Road) but works from his home located at Rochor Road. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing.

14 helpers among 27 imported cases

In addition, there are 27 imported cases, who had already been placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore. Among them, the ministry said, five are Singaporeans or permanent residents, and 14 are foreign domestic workers.

The imported cases are as follows:

  • Case 58875 is a Singaporean and Cases 58847, 58848, 58849 and 58862 are Singapore permanent residents who returned from Indonesia, India and Myanmar.

  • Cases 58845, 58846, 58860, 58861 and 58871 are work pass holders who arrived from the UAE and India.

  • 16 cases are work permit holders who arrived from Indonesia, India, Myanmar and the Philippines, of whom 14 (Cases 58844, 58851, 58852, 58854, 58855, 58856, 58857, 58858, 58859, 58864, 58865, 58866, 58867 and 58868) are foreign domestic workers.

  • Case 58869 is a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from Indonesia to visit his Singaporean child.

Overall, the ministry said, the number of new cases in the community has increased from one case in the week before to 10 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from one case in the week before to four cases in the past week.

99% of total cases have recovered

With 10 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Friday, 58,459 cases – or 99.7 per cent of the total – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 56 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, and one is in the intensive care unit.

A total of 85 patients – with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive – are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from 29 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.

Singapore entered Phase 3 of reopening on Monday.

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