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SINGAPORE: Singapore reported nine new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Friday (October 30), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its preliminary daily update.
There was a community case and an infection involving a dorm resident.
Seven cases were imported and all were put on stay-at-home notice upon arrival in Singapore, the Health Ministry said.
The new infections bring Singapore’s total COVID-19 cases to 58,003.
All of the new cases on Friday were asymptomatic, the ministry said.
The only community case is a 20-year-old permanent resident (PR) who was detected when he underwent a COVID-19 test prior to departure on October 27 before a planned trip to India. The result was positive.
He had been in India in July and August 2020, and had served a 14-day stay-at-home notice in a dedicated facility when he returned to Singapore on Aug. 28, the ministry said.
He tested negative for COVID-19 while serving his stay-at-home notice.
“His serological test taken on October 29 came back positive,” the Health Ministry said.
“Epidemiological investigations are underway to determine if this could be a past infection.”
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has risen from two cases in the previous week to four in the past week, the Health Ministry said.
The number of unrelated cases in the community has also increased from one case in the previous week to four in the last week, he added.
The Ministry of Health also added more locations to the list of public places visited by cases in the community during their infectious period.
These include stores in various malls such as JEM, Hillion Mall, Westgate, and City Square Mall.
The list of places is as follows:
(Table: Ministry of Health)
Those who had been identified as close contacts of confirmed cases have already been notified, the Health Ministry said.
“As a precautionary measure, people who have been in these places during the specified hours should monitor their health closely for 14 days from the date of the visit.
“They should see a doctor immediately if they develop symptoms of acute respiratory infection (such as cough, sore throat and runny nose), as well as fever and loss of taste or smell, and inform the doctor of their exposure history,” said ministry.
As for the infection that involved the sole resident of the dorm, the Health Ministry said the man had previously been identified as a contact from previous cases and had already been quarantined to prevent further transmission.
It was tested during quarantine to determine its status, the ministry added.
UPDATED MAP: All places that community COVID-19 cases visited while infectious
IMPORTED CASES
Among the seven imported cases reported on Friday, one of them is a 57-year-old PR who returned to Singapore from Italy.
Another is a 22-year-old long-term visitor pass holder who came from Bangladesh.
Another four are currently employed in Singapore. Of these, three cases are work pass holders (aged 28-64) who came from the United States, Belgium and Portugal, and one is a 33-year work permit holder who came from Bangladesh.
The remaining case is a 37-year-old special pass holder who arrived from the Philippines to board a ship docked here as a member of the crew.
10 more cases registered
In total, 10 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, the Health Ministry said.
In all, 57,909 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.
There are also currently 42 confirmed cases still in the hospital.
Of these, most are stable or improving and no one is in the intensive care unit.
A total of 24 are isolated and cared for in community facilities.
“These are those who have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19,” the MOH said.
To date, 28 people have died of complications in Singapore due to COVID-19 infection.
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READ: SIA and Changi Airport welcome the government’s decision to ease some COVID-19 travel restrictions
On Thursday, Singapore announced that it will lift border restrictions for all visitors from mainland China and Australia’s state of Victoria from November 6.
This includes all travelers who are not Singapore citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders, the Singapore Civil Aviation Authority said.
The move follows the earlier lifting of border restrictions for visitors from other parts of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand and Vietnam.
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