690 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, bringing total to 15,641; five new clusters identified
A resident in Toh Guan dormitory on April 7, 2020.
SINGAPORE — Singapore has confirmed 690 new cases of Covid-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (April 29).
This brings the total number of cases here to 15,641.
In its media statement, MOH highlighted five new clusters of infection at 11 Defu Lane 1, 106 International Road, 33 Senoko Way, 17 Shaw Road, and 182 Woodlands Industrial Park E5.
Of the 690 new cases, 11 were cases in the community, MOH said.
Six of those cases were Singaporeans or permanent residents, while five were work pass holders.
MOH said that the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of 25 a day in the week before to 17 a day in the past week.
It added that the number of unlinked cases in the community has also dropped, from an average of 17 a day in the week before to nine a day in the past week.
“We will continue to closely monitor these numbers as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme,” MOH said.
Of the remaining cases, 660 infections were linked to foreign workers residing in dormitories, while 19 were those who live outside the dormitories.
MOH said that the main increase on Wednesday continues to be for work permit holders residing in dormitories, where the authorities are picking up many more cases because of extensive testing.
“Most of these cases have a mild illness and are being monitored in the community isolation facilities or general ward of our hospitals. None of them is in the intensive care unit,” the ministry said.
There were no imported cases on Wednesday.
PATIENT FROM THE PUBLIC HEALTHCARE SECTOR
MOH also highlighted a patient from the public healthcare sector — identified as Case 15237.
Case 15237 is a 23-year-old Malaysian woman who has no recent travel history to affected countries or regions. She had reported an onset of symptoms on April 23 and test results confirmed the Covid-19 infection on April 29.
She is hospitalised at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, where she is a nurse.
MOH said that before hospital admission, the woman had mostly been on medical leave and had gone to work only for a few hours.
UPDATE ON THE REST OF THE CONFIRMED CASES
In all, MOH said that 1,188 patients have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. These include 62 people who were discharged on Wednesday.
There are 1,714 confirmed cases who are still in hospital.
Of these, most are stable or improving, and 22 patients are in critical condition under intensive care.
MOH said that 12,725 people are being isolated and cared for at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19.
Fourteen people have died from complications due to the disease.
