12 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, all imported

[SINGAPORE] There were 12 new coronavirus cases confirmed at noon on Monday (March 1), all of whom were imported.

This takes Singapore's total to 59,948.

All 12 imported cases were placed on stay-home notices on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

There were no new community cases and none from migrant workers' dormitories.

A 31-year-old dormitory resident was the sole locally transmitted Covid-19 case on Sunday (Feb 28).

The Bangladeshi national works as a delivery assistant at Chng Woodworking and stays in a dormitory in Kranji Way.

His job entails loading and unloading of goods, and he does not interact with clients, said MOH.

He was identified as a close contact of a previous case - a colleague at the same workplace - and placed on quarantine at a dedicated facility on Feb 23.

His swab taken on Feb 26 came back positive for Covid-19 and he was taken in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

His earlier tests from rostered routine testing - the last one on Feb 14 - were negative for Covid-19 infection, MOH said. The ministry added that his serological test result has come back negative, indicating a likely current infection.

The remaining 10 cases were all imported and had been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore.

The new imported cases comprised a dependant's pass holder from Switzerland, four long-term visit pass holders from India and Myanmar, four work pass holders from India and the Philippines and a work permit holder from India.

Meanwhile, seven more cases were discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Sunday, meaning that 59,808 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 18 patients remained in hospital, including one in critical condition, while 66 were still recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 29 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December 2019, has infected more than 113 million people. More than 2.5 million people have died.

THE STRAITS TIMES