17 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, all imported

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 17 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Tuesday (Jan 12), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

No locally transmitted cases in the community or in foreign workers' dormitories were reported.

All 17 cases were imported and were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

Among them is an 83-year-old Singaporean man who returned from India and two permanent residents who returned from India and the United States. 

One of them, a 41-year-old woman, is the sole symptomatic case reported on Tuesday. The permanent resident had returned from the United States and is currently not linked to any other existing cases or clusters. 

Thirteen other cases are work permit holders who arrived from India, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines, of whom 12 are foreign domestic workers.

READ: Go only to trusted sources for vaccine information, says head of COVID-19 vaccination committee

The remaining case is a sea crew member holding a special pass who arrived from Japan on board a vessel. He was tested for COVID-19 upon arrival in Singapore and subsequently taken to hospital when his test came back positive.

MOH said the overall number of new cases in the community has decreased from 11 cases in the week before to six cases in the past week. 

The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at four cases per week in the past two weeks. 

Twenty-six more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore's total recoveries to 58,694.

There are 53 cases still in hospital. Most of them are stable or improving, and one is in the intensive care unit. Another 170 are being isolated and cared for at community facilities.

As of Tuesday, Singapore has reported a total of 58,946 COVID-19 cases.​​​​​​​

HOME TEAM FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE OFFICERS TO GET VACCINATED

About 1,050 frontline healthcare officers from the Home Team will be vaccinated against COVID-19 over the coming weeks, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday. 

READ: 1,050 Home Team frontline healthcare officers to get COVID-19 vaccine over coming weeks

A total of 1,123 Home Team officers were identified for this vaccination operation, and 94 per cent had agreed to receive the jab, MHA said. 

Eighty officers were already vaccinated on Monday.

The vaccination exercise, including the second dose, for the 1,050 Home Team officers is expected to be completed in six weeks.

This comes after the Government had accepted a vaccination strategy that involves first inoculating healthcare workers starting Dec 30 last year, and rolling it out to more healthcare institutions in the coming weeks.

The aim is also to vaccinate the elderly, starting with those aged 70 years and above, from February, before vaccinating other Singaporeans and long-term residents who are medically eligible for vaccination.

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