SINGAPORE, June 9 — There are 218 new cases of Covid-19 reported today by the Ministry of Health (MOH). This is the lowest daily tally reported here in a while that was not attributed to fewer tests being conducted, as was the case on some days.

Today’s tally includes six community cases: Two are work permit holders and four are work pass holders. The remaining 212 infections were linked to foreign workers residing in dormitories.

There were no Singaporeans or permanent residents among the confirmed cases.

MOH said that of the six community cases, three are housemates of a previously confirmed case and had already been quarantined in government quarantine facilities earlier.

“They are asymptomatic, but we had swabbed them to verify their status during quarantine,” MOH said.

The other three patients — identified by MOH as “local unlinked” cases — were asymptomatic but had been picked up as a result of the ministry’s proactive screening of people working in essential services such as the construction and marine sectors.

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 38,514.

MOH said that overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from an average of four cases a day in the week before to an average of nine cases a day in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community, or those with no known sources of infection, has also gone up from an average of two cases a day in the week before to an average of four cases a day in the past week.

“This is partly due to our active surveillance and screening of targeted groups, which have picked up more cases in the past week,” MOH said, adding that it will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through its surveillance programme.

Mall in Hougang

MOH identified one more location that was visited by a Covid-19 patient while the person was infectious: The Hougang Green Shopping Mall at 21 Hougang Street 51.

The person had gone to the mall on June 3 between 12pm and 1pm.

MOH said that it would have already notified individuals who had been identified as close contacts of the confirmed cases.

“As a precautionary measure, persons who had been at these locations during the specified timings should monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit.”

One more cluster identified

A new cluster of infection has been identified at a dormitory located at 145 Tuas View Square, MOH said.

In monitoring existing clusters for any further transmission, it said that an existing cluster at a construction site along Tanah Merah Coast Road and a dormitory at 17C Tuas Road will not be classified as clusters anymore because there has not been any new cases for the past two incubation periods.

Update on rest of the cases

In all, 25,877 people have fully recovered from the Covid-19 infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, including the 509 today.

There are still 248 patients in hospitals. Of these, most are in stable condition or improving, and three are in critical condition under intensive care.

MOH said that 12,364 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-five people have died from complications due to Covid-19. — TODAY