3 out of 4 imported Covid-19 cases were Singaporeans and PR returning from Pakistan

[SINGAPORE] Three of the four imported Covid-19 cases on Wednesday (July 1) are two Singaporeans and a permanent resident who returned from Pakistan, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

They were placed on stay-home notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore on June 19 and 20, and ferried in separate dedicated transport to SHN facilities to commence their 14-day isolation. They are asymptomatic and had been tested while serving their SHN.

The first, a 39-year-old female Singaporean, tested positive on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, a 40-year-old male PR and a 43-year-old Singaporean man both tested positive.

The remaining imported case had been tested upon arrival at Tanjong Pagar Terminal, and was isolated while awaiting his test result. The 39-year-old Indonesian man tested positive on July 1 after arriving from Indonesia.

The 10 community cases reported on Wednesday comprise six Singaporeans and four work permit holders.

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Among the six Singaporean cases, one had been identified as a contact of a previously confirmed case, and had already been quarantined earlier.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining five cases, of whom three had been swabbed under the ministry's enhanced community testing after being diagnosed with acute respiratory infection.

Among the four work permit holders, two had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had already been quarantined. They were tested during quarantine to verify their status, even though they are asymptomatic.

The remaining two cases are also asymptomatic and were detected through proactive screening of workers in essential services.

One of the community cases is likely to be a past infection and is no longer infectious, the MOH said.

Meanwhile, Funan Mall and McDonald's at Lucky Plaza are among the new places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were still infectious, said the MOH .

A patient also visited Xin Wang Hong Kong Café and Joe & Dough at Northpoint City while infectious. Northpoint City was previously on the list as a patient had visited the Seoul Garden restaurant there while infectious.

Those who were there at the time should monitor their health closely for two weeks from the date of their visit.

The ministry provides the list of locations that Covid-19 patients have visited for more than 30 minutes to get those who were at these places to monitor their health closely for two weeks from the date of their visit.

It has said that close contacts would already have been notified and that there is no need to avoid these places as they would have been cleaned if needed.

The full list can be found on MOH's website.

Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the remaining 201 cases, taking Singapore's total to 44,122.

However, the clusters in dormitories at 48 Toh Guan Road East and 7 Senoko South Road have been closed as they have not had new cases linked to them for 28 days, or two incubation periods.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of four cases per day in the week before, to an average of eight per day in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased, from an average of two cases per day in the week before, to an average of four per day in the past week.

With 511 cases discharged on Wednesday, 38,999 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 209 patients remain in hospital, including one in the intensive care unit, while 4,876 are recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 26 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 12 who tested positive have died of other causes.

THE STRAITS TIMES