Average number of new daily Covid-19 patients in community falls for 8th day in a row

[SINGAPORE] The average number of new daily coronavirus patients in the community in a week has been steadily falling, with Tuesday (July 21) being the eighth day in a row the figure has decreased.

On Tuesday night, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the figure in the past week has dropped to 10 cases, from 13 cases two weeks ago.

Since the lifting of the circuit breaker on June 2, the number of Covid-19 community cases has been gradually rising. But the average number of new daily community cases in a week began falling from July 14.

MOH also said on Tuesday that the number of new unlinked cases in the community in a week has also fallen from a daily average of seven two weeks ago to six in the past week.

There were 399 new coronavirus cases confirmed on Tuesday, taking Singapore's total to 48,434.

They included nine community cases, comprising a Singaporean, three work pass holders and five work permit holders, said the ministry.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

Asean Business

Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.

Sign Up

Of the nine cases in the community, seven were picked up as a a result of the ministry's proactive surveillance and screening, and two had been quarantined earlier.

Three of the community cases were linked to previous cases or clusters.

Of these, two were identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had been quarantined earlier.

They were asymptomatic and tested during quarantine.

The remaining case was also asymptomatic, and was swabbed as part of the ministry's efforts to screen individuals working in frontline Covid-19 operations.

All of the six unlinked community cases were detected from MOH's proactive screening of workers in essential services who are living outside the dormitories, even though five of them were asymptomatic.

There were also three imported cases -two work pass holders and one special pass holder.

The work pass holders were two Indian men aged 29 and 34. They arrived in Singapore on July 9 from India.

Both were asymptomatic and tested positive while serving their stay-home notices.

The remaining imported case, a 22-year-old special pass holder, arrived here on Sunday from the Philippines.

MOH said he was taken directly to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases as he had symptoms.

Migrant workers living in dormitories made up the remaining 387 Covid-19 cases. The higher number of cases was mainly due to a batch of test results from Monday reported to MOH after the noon cut-off for Monday's reporting, the ministry said.

MOH added that the Inter-Agency Task Force has been systematically and progressively clearing dormitories through aggressive testing of migrant workers residing there.

The Woodlands Lodge II dormitory at 190 Woodlands Industrial Park E7 and the SSKBJV Dormitory at 31A Tanah Merah Coast Road have been cleared, and now house only recovered individuals and those who have recently tested negative for Covid-19 infection. As such, the clusters have now been closed.

Meanwhile, an NTUC FairPrice outlet at 2 Joo Chiat Road was added to the list of places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were infectious, said MOH.

The ministry provides the list of locations and times that infectious Covid-19 patients visited for at least 30 minutes to get those who were at these places at specific periods to monitor their health closely for two weeks from the date of their visit.

MOH 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.

With 213 cases discharged on Tuesday, 44,569 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 170 patients remain in hospital, while 3,653 are recuperating in community facilities. None is in intensive care.

Singapore has had 27 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 others who tested positive died of other causes.

THE STRAITS TIMES