263 More Cases Discharged, 301 New Cases of COVID-19 Infection Confirmed

            As of 6 August 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 301 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore. The breakdown of the cases is as follows:

a) Imported cases: 4 (1 Singaporean, 2 Work Pass holders, 1 Dependant’s Pass holder)

Amongst the 4 imported cases, 1 (Case 54617) is a Singaporean who returned to Singapore from Kazakhstan on 25 July. Another 2 cases (Cases 54619 and 54621) are Work Pass holders who are currently employed in Singapore, and had arrived from India on 25 July. The remaining case (Case 54620) is a Dependant’s Pass holder who arrived from India on 25 July.

All of them had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and were serving their SHN at dedicated facilities. They had been tested while serving their SHN.

b) Cases in the community: 4 (3 Singaporeans/ Permanent Residents, 1 Work Permit holder)

Of the 4 cases in the community, 2 were picked up as a result of our proactive surveillance and screening. 2 of the cases are asymptomatic, and were detected through our proactive testing

1 community case today is linked to a previous case. Case 54627 was detected from our proactive screening of workers in essential services who are living outside the dormitories, even though he is asymptomatic. To determine if this is a current or past infection, we also conducted a serological test for him, and the result has come back positive, which indicates likely past infection[1].

3 community cases are currently unlinked. 1 (Case 54459) was swabbed as part of our active case finding efforts. His serological test has come back positive, indicating a likely past infection. The remaining 2 cases were tested as part of our community testing. Case 54581 was detected under our enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI) at first presentation to a doctor. Case 54580 was tested after he sought medical treatment for prolonged ARI symptoms.

Epidemiological investigations of the unlinked cases are in progress. In the meantime, all the identified close contacts have been isolated and placed on quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period so that we can detect asymptomatic cases.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of 3 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 2 per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at an average of 1 case per day in the past 14 days. We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme.

c) Cases residing in dormitories: 293

We continue to aggressively test the final batch of dormitory residents, and remain on track to clear all the dormitories by 7 August, except for a few standalone blocks in the dormitories that serve as quarantine facilities. Depending on the prevalence of COVID-19 at the remaining dormitories whose residents are being tested, the daily case counts may vary. We expect the number to remain volatile in the coming days, before tapering down thereafter as the Inter-agency Taskforce completes the dormitory clearance.

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, 98% are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.

4.            The Inter-agency Taskforce has been systematically and progressively clearing dormitories through aggressive testing of migrant workers residing in dormitories. The following dormitories 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.

• Lingjack Dormitory (1 Woodlands Terrace)

• Beyond Tuas South Boulevard

• 5 Kaki Bukit Industrial Terrace

• 52 Kaki Bukit Industrial Terrace

• 13 Kaki Bukit Road 4

• 10 Kranji Link

• 119 Neythal Road

• 46 Tech Park Crescent

• 17 Tuas View Close

• 119 Tuas View Walk 1

• 107 West Coast Vale

• 5 Woodlands Industrial Park E1

• 182 Woodlands Industrial Park E5

• 208 Woodlands Industrial Park E5

Links between previous cases found

5.          In the past week (30 July to 5 August), MOH has uncovered links for 1 previously unlinked case in the community.

6.          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.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

7.        263 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 48,031 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

8.       There are currently 112 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and none is in the intensive care unit. 6,385 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. 27 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.