463 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, including 18 in community

[SINGAPORE] There are 463 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Friday noon, taking Singapore's total to 39,850.

These include 18 community cases, comprising eight Singaporeans or permanent residents and 10 work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Of these, five were close contacts of earlier cases, and had already been placed on quarantine. MOH picked up another five cases from its surveillance and screening of workers in essential services and persons working at dormitories.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the other eight cases, MOH said.

Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the other cases.

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

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On Thursday, Singapore recorded 422 new Covid-19 cases including five community cases.

Four of the five community cases reported did not show symptoms and were detected through proactive screening, said the MOH.

Two of these four hold work passes, while the other two hold work permits, and all four are either in essential services or are contacts of previous cases.

One of them is a security guard at a dormitory in Tampines Street 62, another is a worker in an unspecified essential service, and the other two are housemates of previously confirmed cases and were already under quarantine.

The fifth community case is a 78-year-old Singaporean man who began showing symptoms on June 4. He is currently unlinked to previous cases.

MOH said three of the five are no longer infectious and may have been infected some time ago. Results for the other two, including the Singaporean, are pending.

The average number of new daily community cases has gone up from six cases two weeks ago to eight in the past week. Unlinked community cases have also increased from one to four over the same period.

Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the other 416 new cases.

A 44-year-old Indian male national who died on Monday of ischaemic heart disease was found to have Covid-19 on Wednesday.

He had developed chest and abdominal pain on May 28, and had sought treatment at a general practitioner's clinic.

On Monday, he was found unconscious in his home and was taken to the Singapore General Hospital, where he died.

There are now 10 in Singapore who tested positive for the virus and died of other causes, while 25 have died from Covid-19 complications.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 7.58 million people. More than 423,000 people have died.

THE STRAITS TIMES