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SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 12 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Sunday (October 4), including two in the community and six imported infections, the Ministry of Health (MINSA) said in its daily report.
This brings the national account to 57,812.
Among the 12 cases, 10 were asymptomatic and detected through “proactive examination and surveillance,” while the remaining two were symptomatic, the Health Ministry said in an update provided Sunday night.
2 COMMUNITY CASES
The two community cases on Sunday involve a work pass holder and a work permit holder, the Health Ministry said.
Both men are from India and are currently unrelated.
One of them, a 45-year-old man, was confirmed COVID-19 positive on October 3, two days after the onset of symptoms.
It was detected under enhanced community testing to evaluate all people 13 years of age and older who were diagnosed with an acute respiratory infection (ARI) on first presentation to a doctor, the Health Ministry said.
On October 4, it was confirmed that the second community case, a 28-year-old man who was asymptomatic, had the disease.
“(He) was detected as a result of our routine tests on the roster of workers in the construction, marine and processes living outside the dormitory sectors, even though he is asymptomatic,” the Health Ministry said.
“Epidemiological investigations of the cases are ongoing.
“In the meantime, all identified close contacts of the cases have been isolated and quarantined, and will be assessed at the beginning and end of their quarantine period so that we can detect asymptomatic cases.”
“We will also perform serological tests on your household contacts to determine if they may have been infected by them.”
The ministry also added that overall, the number of new cases in the community has risen from an average of less than one case per day in the previous week to an average of two cases in the last week.
He said the number of unrelated cases in the community has also risen from an average of less than one case per day in the previous week to an average of one case in the past two weeks.
“We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance program.”
6 IMPORTED CASES, 4 DORMS CASES
There were also six new imported cases that had been placed on a stay-at-home notice or isolated after their arrival in Singapore.
Among them, there are two permanent residents, a work pass holder, two work permit holders and a dependent pass holder, the Health Ministry said.
The two permanent residents, both men aged 39 and 64, returned to Singapore from India on September 22 and 23, respectively.
The 39-year-old man was diagnosed on October 3, while the older man was diagnosed on October 4, after his symptoms appeared on September 30.
Three other cases involved holders of work passes or work permits currently employed in Singapore who came from the Netherlands, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Among them was a 40-year-old work pass holder from the Netherlands who was confirmed to have COVID-19 on October 3. He had arrived in Singapore from the Netherlands on September 22.
A 35-year-old Filipino woman with a work permit who had arrived from the Philippines on September 22 was also among the imported cases. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 on October 3.
A 26-year-old work permit holder from Indonesia was also among the imported infections. He returned from Indonesia to Singapore on October 1 and tested positive two days later.
All three cases were asymptomatic.
The remaining imported case was a 41-year-old dependent pass holder from Japan who arrived in Singapore from Japan on September 22. She was also asymptomatic and tested positive on October 3.
As for the cases within the dormitories, all four were detected through surveillance tests, such as routine tests with biweekly lists of workers living in dormitories.
“This allows us to detect cases early, including asymptomatic ones, so that we can quickly fence them to prevent further transmission, by aggressively containing, tracing and isolating close contacts,” the MOH said.
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Of the new cases, 67 percent are imported or linked to known cases / groups, while the rest are pending contact tracing, he added.
In total, 13 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.
In all, 57,575 have fully recovered from the infection and been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.
There are currently 43 confirmed cases that are still in the hospital.
Of these, most are stable or improving, and none are in the intensive care unit, the Health Ministry said.
Another 167 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 added.
In Singapore, so far, 27 people have died from complications due to COVID-19 infection.
Singapore posted its lowest daily count of new COVID-19s on Saturday since March 10, when it confirmed six new infections.
Authorities are gradually easing some restrictions, including the ability for up to 100 people to attend worship services and weddings, live music at select places of worship and wider audience limits in cinemas.
More people are now also allowed to return to the workplace, subject to conditions such as capacity limits.
Singapore has also lifted border restrictions for short-term visitors from Brunei, New Zealand, Vietnam and Australia, except the state of Victoria, subject to safety and health measures.
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