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SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 34 new COVID-19 infections as of noon on Thursday (January 28), the Ministry of Health (MINSA) said.
All the boxes were imported and had been put on a stay-at-home notice or had been isolated upon arrival.
There were no new infections in the community for the sixth day in a row.
The imported cases include three Singaporeans and five permanent residents who returned from Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
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There were two dependent pass holders who came from Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates and one long-term visit pass holder from India.
Three of the cases are holders of short-term visitation passes. Two had come from Indonesia and the United States for work projects in Singapore, while one came from Indonesia to visit her son, who is from Singapore.
2 IMPORTED CASES PRELIMINARY POSITIVE TEST FOR STRAIN B117
Sixteen are work permit holders who came from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, of which nine are foreign domestic workers.
The Health Ministry said that the work permit holders – Case 59697 – had not started working since their arrival in Singapore. The 31-year-old arrived from Bangladesh on January 6 and delivered a stay-at-home notice at a dedicated facility. His swab performed on January 17 during the stay-at-home advisory was negative for COVID-19.
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On January 18, he was quarantined and isolated as he had been identified as a flight contact for Case 59423: a 41-year-old work permit holder from Bangladesh.
The man was reexamined on January 26 despite being asymptomatic, and his result was positive for COVID-19 infection. His serological test result came back negative, and he also gave a preliminary positive for the B117 strain, and is pending further confirmation tests, the Health Ministry said.
Among the other imported cases reported on Thursday were four work pass holders who arrived from India, Pakistan and Romania.
Case 59703, a 33-year-old man, works as a software engineer at Pacific International Lines.
He arrived from India on December 27 and served a stay-at-home notice in a dedicated facility until January 10. His swab performed on January 7 during the stay-at-home advisory was negative for COVID-19.
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Subsequently, he worked from home from January 11 to January 21. She then developed nausea on January 25 and sought medical treatment at a general medicine clinic the next day. As she also reported intermittent cough and sore throat, she was tested for COVID-19 and tested positive on January 27.
He also tested a preliminary positive for the B117 strain and his serological test was positive, the Health Ministry said.
The Health Ministry said that cases 59697 and 59703 were classified as imported infections due to their recent travel history.
COMMUNITY CASES VISITED POPULAR COMMERCIALS OF THE CITY
The Health Ministry added several new locations to its list of places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community during its infectious period: China Square Food Center, Amoy Street Food Center, and Shrimp Prawn Seafood on Boat Quay.
Public places visited by cases in the community during the infectious period. (Table: MOH)
The Health Ministry said that the total number of new cases in the community has dropped from 21 cases in the previous week to one case in the last week.
The number of unrelated cases in the community has also decreased from six cases in the previous week to none in the last week.
Among the 190 confirmed cases reported between January 22 and 28, a total of 105 cases tested positive in their serological tests, while 38 were negative. Another 47 serological test results are pending.
Forty-four more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore’s total recoveries to 59,148.
There are 40 cases still in the hospital. Most of them are stable or improving and none are in the intensive care unit. Another 208 are being isolated and cared for in community facilities.
MORE THAN 113,000 RECEIVE THE FIRST DOSE OF COVID-19 VACCINE
More than 113,000 people received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Health Ministry said in an update Thursday.
About 50 also received their second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen.
Among those who were inoculated, there were 432 “adverse event reports” as of January 27, the Health Ministry said, adding that most were from regular symptoms such as pain and swelling at the injection site, fever, headache. , fatigue, body aches, dizziness and nausea.
There were three cases of anaphylaxis, or rapid onset of severe allergic reactions, which were detected and treated immediately, the ministry said.
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All three cases, who are in their 20s and 30s, had a history of allergies, such as allergic rhinitis and food allergy, but none had a history of anaphylaxis that would have prevented them from receiving the vaccine.
The Health Ministry said authorities are closely monitoring the safety profile of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as it is administered to the population.
Singapore began its COVID-19 vaccination exercise on December 30, and health workers from the National Center for Infectious Diseases were the first to receive the vaccines.
The country is prioritizing vaccines for the highest-risk groups, according to World Health Organization guidelines.
In addition to the healthcare industry, Singapore has started inoculating front-line workers at border points of entry and those involved in the COVID-19 response, such as swabs and workers in quarantine and community care facilities. It has also started vaccination of Singapore Armed Forces personnel and ground transportation workers.
Vaccinations for the elderly began on Wednesday in Tanjong Pagar and Ang Mo Kio. The vaccines will be phased in for older people in Singapore from mid-February.
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Starting February 1, all polyclinics and selected public health readiness clinics will begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Thursday, Singapore has reported a total of 59,425 COVID-19 cases, with 29 deaths.
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