COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SINGAPORE’s 422 new cases includes 5 in community

SINGAPORE – There are 422 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Thursday noon (June 11), taking Singapore’s total to 39,387.

These include five community cases, comprising a Singaporean and four work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the other cases.

More details will be announced later on Thursday by the MOH.

On Wednesday, MOH said five students and one school employee who were confirmed to have Covid-19 on Sunday have all recovered.

All six had displayed mild symptoms with low viral loads and repeat swab tests using new samples showed they were all negative for the virus.

Five have been discharged from hospital, with the sixth remaining, “pending the resolution of administrative issues”, said MOH.

All six patients had been picked up through proactive testing of school staff and students above 12 years old who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection.

A total of 451 new cases were announced on Wednesday, including seven community cases.

Five of the community cases are asymptomatic and were picked up through the ministry’s active screening measures. Of these, one is a Singaporean, one is a work pass holder and three are work permit holders.

Two of the four pass holders work in essential services, one is a housemate of a previously confirmed case and had already been quarantined, while the other works as a security guard at Hai Leck Engineering, which is an active cluster.

The other three community cases are Singaporeans, aged 38, 56 and 67.

The 56-year-old man is the fifth asymptomatic patient. He works as a security guard at a dormitory at 31 Sungei Kadut Avenue, and his infection was detected when he was swabbed as part of the screening of workers in dorms.

The 67-year-old man is a household contact of a previously confirmed case and had already been quarantined. He first had symptoms on May 25.

The third Singaporean, a 38-year-old nurse at National Heart Centre Singapore, is currently not linked to known cases. She has not been to work since the onset of symptoms last Friday.

Migrant workers living in dorms make up the remaining 444 cases.

The ministry also announced three new dormitory clusters at 9 Sungei Kadut Street 3, 113 Tuas View Walk 1 and 19A Tech Park Crescent.

The number of community cases has also increased since Singapore began its phased reopening. The daily average for new community cases rose from four two weeks ago to nine in the past week. Unlinked cases have also increased from an average of two per day to four over the same period.

With 655 new cases discharged on Wednesday, 26,523 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

Singapore has had 25 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while nine who tested positive died of other causes.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 7.44 million people. More than 418,000 people have died.