26 new cases of Covid-19 in Singapore, all imported
There were no new community cases of Covid-19 in Singapore on Saturday (Feb 6), the Ministry of Health said.
SINGAPORE — There are 26 new cases of Covid-19 infection in Singapore as of noon on Saturday (Feb 6), all of which are imported, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
They had all already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore.
Amongst the new cases today, 25 are asymptomatic, and were detected from proactive screening and surveillance, while one was symptomatic.
MOH noted that overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from three cases in the week before to one case in the past week.
The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from two cases in the week before to one case in the past week.
26 IMPORTED CASES
Of the cases on Saturday:
Two are Singaporeans and six are Singapore Permanent Residents who returned from Gabon, India, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States
One is a dependant's pass holder who arrived from India
One is a student's pass holder who arrived from India
Two are work pass holders who arrived from Germany and the United Arab Emirates
Nine are work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, of whom six are foreign domestic workers
Five are short-term visit pass holders. Three of them arrived from the Philippines and UAE for work projects in Singapore, while two arrived from India to visit their family members who are Singaporeans or Singapore PRs.
One of these, Case 59996, is a 12 year-old female Singapore PR who returned from India on Dec 26 and served SHN at a dedicated facility upon arrival.
While serving SHN, she had been identified as a close contact of Case 591031, a family member who had travelled with her, and was subsequently placed on quarantine until Jan 9. Her swab done on Jan 8 during quarantine was negative for Covid-19.
She is asymptomatic, and her infection was detected when she took a Covid-19 pre-departure test on Feb 4 in preparation for her return to India.
Her test result came back positive the next day, and she was conveyed to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Another, Case 60013 is a 20 year-old male Singapore PR who returned from the UK, where he is studying, on Nov 29 and served SHN at a dedicated facility until Dec 13.
His swab done on Dec 9 during SHN was negative for Covid-19. He is asymptomatic, and his infection was detected when he took a Covid-19 pre-departure test on Feb 4 in preparation for his trip back to the UK.
His test result came back positive the next day, and he was conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
MOH said it has classified both these cases as imported based on their test results, which indicated likely past infections.
“Both cases had very high Ct value, which is indicative of a low viral load, and their serology test results have also come back positive,” MOH said.
“Given that these indicate likely past infection, we have classified the cases as imported based on their travel history. They are likely to be shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA (ribonucleic acid), which are no longer transmissible and infective to others.”
Epidemiological investigations are ongoing, the ministry said.
In the meantime, all the identified close contacts of the cases, including their family and household members, as well as co-workers, have been isolated and placed on quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period.
“We will also conduct serological tests for the close contacts to determine if the case could have been infected by them,” MOH added.
UPDATE ON CONDITION OF CONFIRMED CASES
The total number of infections in Singapore is now 59,675.
Thirty-two more cases of Covid-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.
In all, 59,405 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.
There are currently 39 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Another 202 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.
So far, 29 have passed away from complications due to Covid-19 infection.
