998 more cases discharged; 682 new cases of COVID-19 infection confirmed

                 As of 17 May 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 682 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore. The breakdown is as follows:

  a)   Imported cases: 0

There are no imported cases today.

  b)   Cases in the community: 5 (4 Singaporeans/Permanent Residents, 1 Work Pass)

The number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of 8 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 3 per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased, from an average of 3 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 2 per day in the past week. We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme.

  c)   Work Permit holders (residing outside dormitories): 4

The number of new cases amongst Work Permit holders residing outside dormitories has decreased, from an average of 5 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 2 per day in the past week.

Of the 4 cases, 2 are flatmates who had been identified as contacts of an earlier confirmed case, and had been placed on quarantine from 29 April. They were subsequently tested at the end of their quarantine, and were found to be positive for COVID-19. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the other 2 cases.

  d)   Work Permit holders (residing in dormitories): 673

We continue to pick up many more 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, 99% are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.

Links between previous cases found

4.                 In the past week (10 May to 16 May), MOH has uncovered links for 17 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.

Update on condition of confirmed cases

6.                 998 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 9,340 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

7.                 There are currently 1,210 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 16 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 17,466 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. 22 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.