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SINGAPORE: An Indonesian maid is the only community case among eight new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Thursday (March 11).
The remaining seven cases were imported infections and were placed on a stay-at-home notice upon arrival, the Ministry of Health (MINSA) said. No new infections were reported in the dormitories of migrant workers.
COMMUNITY CASE
The 37-year-old Indonesian foreign domestic worker is the only community case reported Thursday. Known as Case 60818, he arrived in Singapore on January 20 and delivered his stay-at-home notice in a dedicated facility until February 3.
A swab on February 2 tested negative for COVID-19. His pre-departure test taken in Indonesia on January 18 also came back negative, the Health Ministry said.
She is asymptomatic and was detected when she was tested on March 9 as part of the Ministry of Health’s investigation into a previous infection, Case 60666. Case 60666 is a 35-year-old Indonesian maid who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 4, but the additional test performed by the National Public Health Laboratory on March 5 came back negative.
“As an additional precaution, the Ministry of Health examined all those attending the Settlement Program for foreign domestic workers on February 4, attended by both Case 60666 and 60818, although they were not close contacts,” said the Ministry of Health. Thursday.
The 37-year-old woman’s test came back positive for COVID-19 on March 9 and she was taken by ambulance to the National Center for Infectious Diseases.
His serological test result has come back positive, indicating a probable past infection, the Health Ministry added.
“However, as we cannot definitively confirm his date of infection, we will take all necessary public health actions as a precautionary measure,” the Ministry of Health said.
“Based on our epidemiological investigations, it is likely that cases 60666 and 60818 have been infected separately before and there is currently no evidence that the two cases are related.”
IMPORTED CASES
Of the seven imported cases, one is a Singaporean who returned from Qatar.
Four other imported cases are work permit holders who came from Bangladesh, India and Malaysia. The remaining two cases are the holder of a student pass and the holder of a long-term visit pass that arrived from India.
Another 28 cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 59,939 have fully recovered from the infection.
A total of 21 cases remain in the hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
The Ministry of Health reported that 81 cases are isolated and treated in community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.
READ: COVID-19 vaccination for people 60 to 69 years old, invitations to go out in the ‘next few days’: MSPAS
LEE: More than 150,000 workers in the education sector will be offered the COVID-19 vaccine as of March 10
More than 150,000 teachers and other education sector workers are being offered COVID-19 vaccines in an extension of Singapore’s vaccination drive since Wednesday.
“It complements existing efforts to keep our educational institutions safe, as children and the majority of our students are not yet medically eligible for vaccination,” authorities said Monday.
Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is approved for use only in people 16 years of age and older. The Moderna vaccine is only approved for use in people 18 years of age and older.
Singapore will also begin offering vaccinations to migrant workers living in dormitories and selected freight drivers and accompanying personnel who regularly enter the country from Malaysia.
Vaccinations for people age 70 and older began on February 22, and letters have been sent to people ages 60 to 69 inviting them to make appointments for their vaccination.
More than 392,000 people in Singapore have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday, the Health Ministry said. Of these, more than 218,000 received their second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen.
As of Thursday, Singapore has reported a total of 60,070 COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths from the disease.
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