276 MORE CASES DISCHARGED 183 NEW CASES OF COVID-19 INFECTION CONFIRMED

      As of 6 July 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified an additional 183 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore. The breakdown is as follows: 

a)    Imported cases: 3 (2 Singaporeans, 1 Work Pass holder)

Amongst the 3 imported cases, 2 are Singaporeans who returned to Singapore from Yemen on 24 June and India on 23 June respectively. The remaining case (Case 44962) is a Filipino who returned to Singapore from the Philippines on 24 June. She is a Work Pass holder who is currently employed in Singapore. All of them had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and had been tested while serving their SHN.

b) Cases in the community: 23 (3 Singaporeans, 1 Work Pass holder, 19 Work Permit holders)

Of the 23 cases in the community, 18 had been picked up as a result of our proactive surveillance and screening, and 3 had already been placed on quarantine earlier. 

17 of the community cases today are linked to previous cases or clusters. Of these, 13 had been detected as part of our proactive screening of workers in essential services or individuals working in dormitories, even though they are all asymptomatic. Amongst them, 7¹ are migrant workers who reside together at a temporary accommodation arranged by their company. Their PCR test results indicate low viral loads, detectable only after many amplification cycles, which means these may be past infections. We will conduct serological tests for these workers to determine if they have current or past infections but in the meantime, MOH is investigating the possible exposures and links, and will take appropriate action to prevent further transmission. 

Another 3 cases² (Cases 44937, 44990 and 44996) had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had been tested during their quarantine to determine their status. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining case (Case 44858) which is linked to ASPRI-Westlite Papan dormitory.

6 of the community cases are currently unlinked. Of these, 5 cases (Cases 44924, 44926, 44931, 44932 and 44936) were tested as they work in essential services, even though they are all asymptomatic. The remaining case (Case 44944) had been tested under our enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at first presentation to a doctor. This allows us to detect infected individuals early and to quickly contain further spread.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of 7 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 12 per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased, from an average of 4 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 5 per day in the past week. We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme.

In the past week, from 29 June to 5 July, about 4 in 10 of the community cases have been tested serology positive, indicating that they are likely past infections³. 

c) Cases residing in dormitories: 157

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 (29 June to 5 July), MOH has uncovered links for 5 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.     276 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 40,717 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities. 

7.     There are currently 208 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 2 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 4,032 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. 

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
6 JULY 2020

¹Cases 44921, 44922, 44928, 44929, 44930, 44934 and 44935.
²Updated from the afternoon press release as 2 cases have been re-categorised following further investigation.
³Cases 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.