12 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, all imported

[SINGAPORE] There were 12 new coronavirus cases confirmed as at Monday noon (March 22), taking Singapore's total to 60,208.

They are all imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notices on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

There were no community cases and no cases from migrant workers' dormitories.

On Sunday (March 21), there were 12 imported Covid-19 cases reported - four of whom were sea crew arriving from Indonesia on one vessel.

They were tested on board without disembarking, said MOH.

All 12 cases had already been placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival here, the Health Ministry added.

Besides the four sea crew members, who are special pass holders, the other cases comprised one Singaporean, one dependant's pass holder, one work pass holder, two long-term visit pass holders and three work permit holders.

The Singaporean is a 23-year-old man who returned from India.

The dependant's pass holder arrived from Nepal, while the two long-term visit pass holders came from India.

The sole work pass holder came from Nepal. The three work permit holders who arrived from India, Indonesia and the Philippines are all foreign domestic workers.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased to zero in the past week from two in the week before.

The number of unlinked cases in the community also dropped to zero in the past week from two in the week before.

Among the 91 confirmed cases reported from last Monday to Sunday, 34 cases had positive serology tests, indicating a past infection. Another 36 tested negative in the serology tests, and 21 results are still pending.

Meanwhile, MOH noted that one cluster remains open, with cases linked to a 41-year-old female Singaporean who is a Singapore Airlines cabin crew member. She was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on Feb 8. The other cases are her spouse and domestic helper.

With 16 patients discharged on Sunday, 60,023 people have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 18 patients remain in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving and none is in the intensive care unit, MOH said.

Another 110 are recuperating in community facilities. They who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but had tested positive for Covid-19.

Singapore has had 30 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

THE STRAITS TIMES