451 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, taking total to 28,794

[SINGAPORE] Among the 451 new patients announced on Tuesday (May 19), is a 30-year-old Singaporean man who began showing symptoms on May 11 and was confirmed to have the coronavirus on Monday. He lives with another previously announced case, a 58-year-old woman who had gone to work at Bishan MRT station.

The single case equals the lowest number of cases among Singaporeans and PRs since circuit breaker measures began on April 7. The last time one case was reported in this group was last Friday (May 15). With 10 patients now in ICU, this is also the lowest number of Covid-19 patients to be in intensive care since the circuit breaker began.

A total of 530 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals and community facilities on Tuesday.

This means that as of Tuesday, 10,356, or about 36 per cent of the total 28,794 Covid-19 patients in Singapore, have fully recovered from the virus.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) also announced two new clusters at 2 Sungei Kadut Street 4 and 13 Kaki Bukit Road 4.

The remaining 450 new cases are foreign workers living in dormitories.

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As of Tuesday, 26,541 of the 323,000 migrant workers living in dormitories, or slightly more than 8 per cent, have tested positive for Covid-19. The authorities are continuing to test workers, and Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo has said that the aim is to test all of them systematically so they can be cleared before returning to work.

There are signs that the Covid-19 situation in Singapore could be stabilising amid the circuit breaker.

The number of patients discharged has exceeded new patients in the past seven days, while the average number of new daily cases in the past week for Singaporeans, PRs, long-term pass holders and work permit holders outside dorms has fallen compared with two weeks ago.

For Singaporeans, permanent residents and pass holders, it fell from six cases two weeks ago to three in the past week. The corresponding figures for work permit holders living outside dormitories in the same period are four and one.

The number of cases among Singaporeans, permanent residents and pass holders that are unlinked also decreased from two per day two weeks ago to one in the past week.

Of the new cases, only one per cent was unlinked, and contact tracing is ongoing.

Twenty-two have died from Covid-19 complications and nine who tested positive have died from other causes.

Globally, the outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 4.8 million people. Some 318,000 have died.

THE STRAITS TIMES