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SINGAPORE: Two unrelated community cases were among 23 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore on Wednesday (March 3).
The remaining 21 cases were imported infections and were placed on admission notice upon arrival in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MINSA) said. No new cases were reported in the dormitories of foreign workers.
RETIRED, HOME AMONG COMMUNITY CASES
One of the community cases is an 82-year-old man from Singapore. The retiree developed a runny nose, body aches and chills on February 14 and sought medical treatment at a general medicine clinic on February 22. He was tested for COVID-19, but it came back negative, the Health Ministry said.
On March 1, she sought medical treatment again because she was still feeling unwell and was tested again for COVID-19. His test came back positive the next day and he was taken to the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
His serological test result was negative, indicating that it is likely a current infection, the Health Ministry said.
“Although he had registered for the COVID-19 vaccination on February 22, he did not proceed with the vaccination on the date of his appointment, as his doctor had advised him to postpone the vaccination if he did not feel well,” added the Ministry of Health.
The other community case is a 38-year-old permanent resident. The housewife was asymptomatic and her infection was detected when she was tested for COVID-19 prior to departure on March 2 in preparation for a trip to India.
Her result came back positive the next day and she was taken to NCID in an ambulance. The result of your serological test is pending.
The Health Ministry said all identified close contacts of the cases have been isolated and quarantined. They will be tested at the beginning and end of their quarantine period and they will also undergo serological tests.
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IMPORTED CASES
Twenty of the imported cases are holders of work passes that came from India, Nepal and Nigeria. The remaining imported infection is a permanent resident who arrived from Indonesia.
The Health Ministry said the total number of new cases in the community has risen from two cases in the previous week to four cases in the last week.
The number of unrelated cases in the community has also increased from none in the previous week to four cases in the last week.
Among the 89 confirmed cases reported between February 25 and March 3, 35 cases tested positive on their serological tests. Another 26 have tested negative and 28 serology results are pending.
The Ministry of Health also added several new locations to its list of places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community during its infectious period.
These locations include Mustafa Center, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple along Serangoon Road, and Murugan Idli Shop along Syed Alwi Road.
The Ang Mo supermarket and GHK 407 Food House in Ang Mo Kio were also visited.
7 LOWEST PATIENTS
Seven more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore’s total recoveries to 59,849.
There are still 18 cases in the hospital. Most of them are stable or improving and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Another 83 cases are being isolated and treated in community facilities. These are people who have mild symptoms or are clinically well, but still test positive for COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, Singapore has reported a total of 59,979 COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths from the disease.
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On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the number of new COVID-19 infections globally increased last week for the first time in seven weeks.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the increase in cases was “disappointing but not surprising” and urged countries not to relax measures to combat the disease.
It was too early for countries to rely solely on vaccination programs and abandon other measures, he said: “If countries rely solely on vaccines, they are making a mistake. Basic public health measures remain the basis of the answer.” .
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