304 More Cases Discharged, 191 New Cases of COVID-19 Infection Confirmed

1.     As of 24 June 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 191 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore. The breakdown is as follows:

1. Imported cases: 0

   There are no imported cases today.

2. Cases in the community: 7 (2 Singaporeans, 2 Work Pass holders, 3 Work Permit holders)

   Of the 7 cases in the community, 4 had been picked up as a result of our proactive surveillance and screening. The remaining 3 cases had been tested when they sought medical treatment.

   Amongst the 2 Singaporean cases, 1 (Case 42616) was tested as part of our efforts to proactively screen persons working at dormitories. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the other case (Case 42594).

   Amongst the 5 Work Pass/ Work Permit holders, 2 (Cases 42620 and 42652) are asymptomatic, but were detected as part of our screening of workers in essential services. Another case (Case 42617) was swabbed as he works at a dormitory, even though he is also asymptomatic. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining 2 cases (Cases 42481 and 42498), who have been linked to a cluster.

   Besides the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, we also conducted serological tests to determine if some of these cases are current or past infections. [1] The serological test result for Case 42620 has come back positive, which indicates likely past infection. The test results for the remaining cases are pending.

   Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of 7 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 4 per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at an average of 2 per day in the past two weeks. We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme.

3. Cases residing in dormitories: 184

We continue to pick up cases amongst Work Permit holders residing in dormitories, including in factory-converted dormitories, because of extensive testing in these premises, as part of our process to verify and test the status of all workers.

2.     Details of these trends can be found in MOH’s daily situation Report (www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report). Please refer to Annex A for the summary of the confirmed cases.

3.     Of the new cases, 97% are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.

Links between previous cases found

4.     In the past week (17 June to 23 June), MOH has uncovered links for 7 previously unlinked cases.

5.     Further epidemiological investigations and contact tracing have uncovered links between previously announced and new cases. Please refer to Annex B and Annex C for details.

Cases from public healthcare sector

Case 42594

6.     Case 42594 is a 31 year-old male Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries or regions. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 23 June, and is currently warded at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH).

7.     Prior to hospital admission, he had gone to work as a nurse at NTFGH.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

8.     304 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 36,299 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

9.     There are currently 189 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 1 is in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 6,109 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19. 26 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

[1] Cases whose serological tests are positive are likely to have a past infection, and could be shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA picked by the PCR test, which were no longer transmissible and infective to others.