3 NEW CASES OF LOCALLY TRANSMITTED COVID-19 INFECTION
23 April 2021
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As of 23 April 2021, 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed and verified that there are 3 new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection. Of these, 2 are in the community, and 1 resides in a dormitory. There are 36 imported cases, who had already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore. Amongst the new cases today, 33 are asymptomatic, and were detected from our proactive screening and surveillance, while 6 were symptomatic.
Summary of new cases
Table caption
Breakdown by | Breakdown by | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of cases | Already in quarantine/ isolation before detection | Detected from surveillance | Symptomatic | Asymptomatic | |
Cases in the community | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Cases residing in dormitories | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Imported cases | 36 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 30 |
Total | 39 |
2. Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 4 cases in the week before to 10 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 3 cases in the week before to 5 cases in the past week. We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme.
3. Amongst the 174 confirmed cases reported from 17 April to 23 April, 65 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 73 have tested negative, and 36 serology test results are pending.
Case Details
a) Cases in the community: 2
There are 2 cases in the community today who are currently unlinked.
Case 62285
Case 62285 is a 33 year-old male Indonesia national who is a sea crew on board a bunker tanker. He arrived by flight from Indonesia on 4 February and served SHN at a dedicated facility until 18 February. His on-arrival test on 4 February was negative for COVID-19, as was his test taken during SHN on 17 February. He boarded a vessel on 18 February, and had not disembarked except to go for COVID-19 vaccination.
He is asymptomatic, and was detected when he was tested onboard on 20 April as part of our protocol to test sea crew. His test result came back positive for COVID-19 the next day, and he was conveyed in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). His serology test result has come back positive.
Case 62285 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccination on 16 April. As the vaccine does not contain live virus, he could not have been infected due to vaccination. It is possible for one to be infected just before or just after vaccination as it typically takes a few weeks for an individual to build up immunity after completing vaccination.
Case 62294
Case 62294, a 38 year-old male Indonesia national, is a Short-Term Visit Pass holder who is in Singapore for a work project. He arrived from Indonesia on 28 March and served SHN at a dedicated facility until 11 April. His on-arrival test, as well as swab taken during SHN on 10 April, were negative for COVID-19.
He is asymptomatic, and was detected when he took a COVID-19 pre-departure test on 22 April in preparation for his trip back to Indonesia. His test result came back positive on the same day, and he was conveyed in an ambulance to Mount Elizabeth Hospital. His serology test result has come back positive. He received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 4 March, and the second dose on 18 March in Indonesia.
b) Cases residing in dormitories: 1
There is 1 case residing in a dormitory today who is currently unlinked.
Case 62273, a 21 year-old male India national, is a Work Permit holder who arrived in Singapore in October 2018. He is employed by Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard Pte Ltd and works at Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard. He resides at SCM Tuas Lodge (80 Tuas South Boulevard).
He is asymptomatic, and was detected when he was tested on 19 April as part of Rostered Routine Testing (RRT). His pooled test result came back positive for COVID-19, and he was immediately isolated. An individual test was done on 20 April, and his test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day. He was subsequently conveyed to NCID in an ambulance. His earlier tests from RRT – the last being on 12 April – were all negative for COVID-19 infection. His serology test result has come back positive.
Case 62273 received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 11 March, and the second dose on 1 April. This likely accounts for his lack of symptoms and positive serology test result. The COVID-19 vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for the vast majority of those vaccinated, but it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected. Further research is required to determine if the vaccination will also prevent onward transmission of the infection. Our existing key enablers – safe management measures, testing, and contact tracing – continue to be necessary and effective in helping us to mitigate spread and keep community transmission low.
c) Imported cases: 36
Amongst the 36 imported cases,
- 9 (Cases 62300, 62302, 62304, 62305, 62306, 62310, 62312, 62316 and 62317) are Singaporeans and 7 (Cases 62280, 62282, 62295, 62297, 62303, 62309, and 62313) are Singapore Permanent Residents who returned from India, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Papua New Guinea.
- 3 (Cases 62279, 62281 and 62319) are Dependant’s Pass holders who arrived from India and Nepal.
- 3 (Cases 62286, 62314 and 62318) are Student's Pass holders who arrived from India.
- 4 (Cases 62288, 62292, 62315 and 62320) are Work Pass holders who arrived from India, the Maldives and Nepal.
- 9 are Work Permit holders who arrived from India, Indonesia and the Philippines, of whom 6 (Cases 62283, 62307, 62321, 62323, 62324 and 62326) are foreign domestic workers.
- 1 (Case 62287) is a Short-Term Visit Pass holder who arrived from India to visit his family member who is a Singaporean.
They had all already been placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore and were tested while serving SHN.
4. Please refer to the Annexes and MOH’s daily Situation Report (www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/situation-report) for details.
5. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing. In the meantime, all the identified close contacts of the cases 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. We will also conduct serological tests for the close contacts to determine if the cases could have been infected by them.
Update on condition of confirmed cases
6. 10 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 60,613 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.
7. There are currently 80 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. 220 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. 30 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
23 APRIL 2021