SINGAPORE, June 6 — Three of the new Covid-19 infections identified yesterday were due to start work in essential services, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
They were among the 11 community cases announced yesterday which saw 261 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, bringing the total number of infections here to 37,183.
The lower number of cases is “partly due to fewer swabs being conducted”, MOH said.
Of the 11 community cases, MOH said that six are Singaporeans or permanent residents and the remaining five are work permit holders. The remaining 250 infections were linked to foreign workers residing in dormitories.
Eight of those community cases were asymptomatic, MOH added, but had been swabbed as part of the ministry’s “proactive surveillance or to verify their status during quarantine”.
MOH said that among the six Singaporeans and permanent residents, five were linked to past cases and were already on quarantine. The remaining case is a permanent resident who stays at the Cassia @ Penjuru dormitory.
Among the five work permit holders, MOH said that four cases were picked up due to its “proactive screening”.
Of these, three were tested before they were due to start work in essential services, and one infection was tested as part of the MOH’s screening of migrant workers residing at shophouses located at Balestier Road due to their proximity to another cluster in the same area.
“Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining case,” MOH said.
The health ministry added that besides the polymerase chain reaction test, it had also conducted serological tests to determine if some of these cases are current or past infections.
“The serological test results of three cases have come back positive, which indicate likely past infections. Results are pending for the rest,” MOH said.
Overall, MOH said that the number of new cases in the community has increased from an average of five a day in the week before, to an average of six a day in the past week.
It added that the number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at an average of two cases a day in the past two weeks.
Cluster closed and another identified
MOH said that it has been monitoring existing clusters for any further transmission.
“As there have been no more cases linked to Acacia Home (30 Admiralty Street) for the past two incubation periods, the cluster has now been closed,” MOH said.
The health ministry, however, identified one new cluster of infection at a dormitory at 781 Woodlands Avenue 9.
Update on the rest of the cases
In all, MOH said that 24,209 people have fully recovered from the Covid-19 infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, including the 305 yesterday.
There are currently 307 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and four patients are in critical condition under intensive care.
MOH said that 12,643 patients are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19.
Twenty-four people have died from complications due to Covid-19 infection. ― TODAY
