Covid-19: Record 142 new cases; man, 32, dies

Singapore

SINGAPORE reported 142 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, a record high, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update. This includes a 32-year-old Indian national who died and was confirmed to have had the virus only after his death, the cause of which is being investigated.

MOH now requires all returning travellers to serve the stay-home notice at dedicated facilities.

In the latest update on Covid-19 cases here, it said 140 are local cases and two, imported. They bring the total number of cases here to 1,623. Among the local cases, links to existing clusters have been established for 55 cases, of which 40 are linked to clusters in foreign-worker dormitories.

Thirteen cases that have been linked to other cases. Contact tracing is being done for the remaining 72.

The 32-year-old Indian national who has died was swabbed on Tuesday and advised to stay home pending the test results, but he died at home the following day. He was confirmed to have had Covid-19 after his death, but his chest X-ray showed he did not have pneumonia; an investigation is ongoing.

MOH also said that 29 patients were discharged on Wednesday. To date, 406 cases have fully recovered from the infection and been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. A total of 542 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19 are being isolated and cared for in private hospitals.

Of the 669 confirmed cases still in hospital, most are stable or improving; 29 are in critical condition. Six have died from complications due to Covid-19 infection.

From 11.59pm on Thursday, all Singaporeans returning from overseas will have to serve their 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) at dedicated facilities instead of in their homes.

The Ministry said the rule has now been extended to all Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders regardless of the country they are coming from.

Previously, only those returning from the United States, Britain, Asean countries, India, France and Switzerland had to do so.

All returnees are transported straight from the airport to the hotels. There, they have their own rooms and toilets, and all meals are provided, so that they can be isolated from others. The ministry said in its statement: "We have since stepped up capacity, and are now able to accommodate fresh returnees from all countries."

It added that if there are unexpected capacity constraints such as a larger-than-expected number of returnees, it may prioritise the dedicated facilities for returnees from certain regions or countries, based on risk assessment.

"Returnees who are already back in Singapore will continue to serve their 14-day SHN at their current location. As was earlier announced, all returnees who disregarded prevailing travel advisories and left Singapore from March 27 would be required to bear the full cost of their 14-day SHN at dedicated SHN facilities." THE STRAITS TIMES