Singapore reports 8 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported eight new COVID-19 cases and one death as of noon on Saturday (Mar 13).

All the new infections were imported and were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

A 61-year-old Singaporean man died on Friday from complications due to COVID-19, said the Health Ministry. Known as Case 59858, he had been in the United Arab Emirates for work and returned to Singapore on Jan 30. 

He developed a cough just before departing the UAE and shortness of breath on the same day, and tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Singapore.

"He had a past history of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and gout. The National Centre for Infectious Diseases has reached out to his family and is extending assistance to them," said MOH.

READ: 61-year-old man is Singapore's 30th COVID-19 fatality

IMPORTED CASES

Among the new cases reported on Saturday are a Singaporean and a permanent resident who returned from India and Papua New Guinea.

A student's pass holder who arrived from India and two men - a work pass holder and a work permit holder - who arrived from Bangladesh are also among the imported cases.

Two short-term visit pass holders are also among the new cases, one of whom arrived from the US to work in Singapore. The other case is a sea crew member who arrived from Indonesia on a vessel and had remained isolated until his COVID-19 test result returned positive. He was taken to hospital.

The remaining imported case is a special pass holder who is a sea crew member. He arrived from Indonesia on a vessel and was tested on board without disembarking.

CLUSTER CLOSED

A COVID-19 cluster involving a Chinatown Complex stall owner and his family was closed, with no new cases linked to it for the past 28 days.

The cluster consisted of four cases – the stall owner, his wife and his two children. The stall owner tested positive for the coronavirus on Feb 10, and was detected through community surveillance testing of stallholders and shop owners in Chinatown ahead of Chinese New Year.

Eleven more COVID-19 cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore's total recoveries to 59,961.

A total of 17 cases remain in hospital, most of whom are stable or improving, with none in the intensive care unit. 

Another 80 cases are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are people who have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.

READ: IT engineer who declined COVID-19 test is sole community case among 10 new infections in Singapore

An IT engineer who declined a COVID-19 test was Friday’s sole community case.

The 36-year-old Indian national, who is a work pass holder, had been working from home since his arrival from India on Jan 16. He had served his stay-home notice at a dedicated facility until Jan 30. A COVID-19 test taken on Jan 29 returned negative.

He developed a runny nose on Mar 1 and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic on the same day. 

"As he declined to be tested for COVID-19, he was given five days of medical leave and advised to return for a test if he did not recover," said MOH.

The man was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Mar 11 when he took a pre-departure test in preparation for a trip to India. His serological test came back positive, which indicates a likely past infection, said MOH.

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 60,088 COVID-19 cases and 30 fatalities from the disease.

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