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SINGAPORE: Four community cases were among 30 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Tuesday (January 19).
Two of the community infections are linked to a previous case, forming a new group.
Meanwhile, the group involving the police para-vet has risen to seven cases, after an eight-year-old boy tested positive for the coronavirus.
No cases were reported in the dormitories of foreign workers, said the Ministry of Health (MINSA).
Twenty-six of the new cases are imported infections and were placed on a stay-at-home notice upon arrival.
NEW COVID-19 CLUSTER
Two of the new community cases have been linked to Case 59343, a food processing worker at Golden Bridge Foods Manufacturing who tested positive last week.
The first of the two is a 31-year-old work permit holder who is a co-worker and a housemate in case 59343. They are both Chinese citizens.
The 31-year-old man had been identified as a close contact in Case 59343 and was quarantined on January 15. He was examined on January 17 during his quarantine even though he was asymptomatic, and his result was positive for COVID-19. infection the next day.
He was then taken to the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
His serological test result is negative, indicating that it is likely a current infection, the Health Ministry said.
The second case is a 48-year-old work permit holder who is the wife of case 59343.
The Chinese citizen is a food processing worker at Soon Lee Heng Satay Foodstuff Manufacturer, located at 15 Woodlands Loop.
She was quarantined on January 15 and examined on January 17, even though she is asymptomatic.
His infection was confirmed the next day.
Your serological test result is negative.
THE CLUSTER LINKED TO THE K-9 POLICE UNIT GROWS
The third community case is an 8-year-old Singaporean boy linked to the group involving the para-veterinarian from the K-9 police unit.
The boy is the son of Case 59365, a 44-year-old Singaporean man who works as an administrative officer in the same place as the para-vet, and Case 59393, a 43-year-old woman.
He is a student from Chua Chu Kang Elementary School and he last went to school on January 15. He was quarantined on January 16.
READ: COVID-19 cluster linked to K-9 police unit grows to 7 cases after 8-year-old tests positive
“They took a sample the same day and his result was negative for COVID-19,” said the Ministry of Health. “Therefore, there is no risk of transmission to the students with whom he had previous contact.”
However, the boy developed a fever on January 17 while in quarantine and was re-examined at KK Children’s and Women’s Hospital. This test came back positive for COVID-19 infection.
Your serological test result is negative.
This group now has a total of seven confirmed infections.
UNLINKED CASE
The fourth case is a 39-year-old permanent resident working as a sales staff at BS Industrial & Construction Supply, located at 34 Kallang Place.
She developed a fever on January 16 and sought treatment at a polyclinic on January 18, where she was tested for COVID-19 as part of the enhanced community testing by the Ministry of Health.
His test result was positive for COVID-19 infection on the same day and he was brought to NCID.
Your serological test result has been negative.
Epidemiological investigations are ongoing, the Health Ministry said, adding that all identified close contacts of the cases, including their relatives, household members and co-workers, have been isolated and quarantined. Serological and COVID-19 tests will also be performed for them.
The Health Ministry added that the total number of new cases in the community has risen from six cases in the previous week to 14 cases in the last week.
The number of unrelated cases in the community has increased from four cases in the previous week to five cases in the last week.
The Ministry of Health also added several new places to its list of places visited by cases in the community during their infectious period: Singapore Church, Marina Square and Gain City Megastore @ Sungei Kadut.
4 CITIZENS AMONG IMPORTED CASES
Among the 26 imported COVID-19 infections, there are four Singaporeans and three permanent residents who returned from Indonesia, Ireland, Myanmar and the United Kingdom.
Two are holders of student passes who came from Bulgaria and Malaysia.
One is a holder of a work pass who traveled from the United Arab Emirates.
The remaining 16 cases are work permit holders who came from Bangladesh, India and Indonesia, of which three are foreign domestic workers.
Case 59415, a work permit holder, arrived from Bangladesh on December 28, 2020. He delivered his stay-at-home notice in a dedicated facility until January 11, 2021.
It gave three negative results for COVID-19: January 8, January 12, and January 14. However, her test on January 17 was positive for COVID-19 infection. The Ct value in the last test was very high, indicating a low viral load.
His serological test result has also come back positive.
“Since these indicate a probable past infection, we have classified the case as imported,” said the Ministry of Health.
“It is likely that it is removing tiny bits of RNA from the virus, which are no longer communicable or infectious to others.”
One of the cases imported from Singapore is that of a 28-year-old who had returned from Ireland on January 3.
She was put on stay-at-home notice in a dedicated facility, and tested negative for COVID-19 on January 14. However, he developed a dry throat later that day and a cough on January 16, but did not report his symptoms.
After his stay-at-home notice ended on January 17, he sought medical treatment at the National University Hospital a day later and was tested for COVID-19. His result was positive the same day.
RECOVERIES
An additional 26 cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore’s total recoveries to 58,894.
There are 45 cases still in the hospital. Most of them are stable or improving and none are in the intensive care unit. Another 189 are being isolated and cared for in community facilities.
As of Tuesday, Singapore has reported a total of 59,157 COVID-19 cases.
READ: COVID-19: Pilot for Reopening of Nightclubs, Karaoke Venues Delayed Amid Rise in Community Cases
THE VIRUS STILL RUNS SILENTLY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY: LAWRENCE WONG
Education Minister Lawrence Wong said Monday that authorities are seeing more new infected cases in the community in recent days.
“For the first time in several months, we have a local group linked to a police para-vet. Unfortunately, there were also several recent cases that did not seek medical treatment despite having flu-like symptoms,” he said in a Facebook post. .
Wong, who also co-chairs the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force, said contact trackers are working hard to identify all possible contacts, surround potential cases, and prevent further spread.
READ: More than 10,000 frontline maritime workers will be vaccinated by the end of January: MPA
“We are also monitoring the situation carefully and considering whether additional measures are needed to ensure that the infection remains under control,” he said.
“In the meantime, please cooperate with all safe handling measures: wear your masks, consult a doctor when sick, and do your part to reduce the risks of transmission. The virus is still quietly circulating within our community and we cannot afford to lower the guard”.
PILOT FOR DISC REOPENING, DELAYED KARAOKE OUTPUTS
Amid an increase in the number of community cases, a pilot program to reopen some nightclubs and karaoke venues with COVID-19 security measures in place has been postponed until further notice.
This is to avoid the risk of further community transmission and the formation of groups in high-risk settings such as nightclubs and karaoke venues, the Interior Ministry (MHA) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MTI) said on Tuesday. .
READ: 37,000 frontline and maritime aviation workers will be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine
Such environments involve people coming into close contact for extended periods of time and in closed spaces, the ministries added.
The pilot for nightclubs and karaoke venues was due to start this month. The authorities had chosen two nightclubs and 10 karaoke venues to participate in the pilot, out of a total of eight nominations for nightclubs and 15 for karaoke venues.
The ministries said they were not sure when the pilot could start, given the “dynamic public health situation.” The agencies will review the start of the pilots at an appropriate time, they added.
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