5th Aug 2020
As of 5 August 2020, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed an additional 908 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, the vast majority of whom are Work Permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. Of these, the vast majority are dormitory residents who were tested during their isolation/ quarantine period, even though they are asymptomatic. They are amongst the final batch of workers being cleared and they come from dormitories with a relatively high prevalence of COVID-19. Hence we expect the daily case counts to be high for the coming days, before tapering down thereafter as the Inter-agency Taskforce completes the dormitory clearance.
2 We 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. There are presently about 9,700 workers in these quarantine facilities. They will have to serve out their 14-day isolation periods, and be subject to an exit test before they are able to resume work.
3 Based on our investigations so far, there are 4 cases in the community, of whom 3 are Singaporeans/ Permanent Residents and 1 is a Work Pass holder. In addition, there are 4 imported cases, who had all been placed on Stay-Home Notice upon arrival in Singapore.
4 We are still working through the details of the cases, and further updates will be shared via the MOH press release that will be issued tonight.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
5 AUGUST 2020