10 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, all imported

SINGAPORE: Ten new COVID-19 cases were reported in Singapore on Sunday (Apr 4), all imported, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update.

All the cases were placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival in Singapore, said the ministry. 

Seven cases are work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, India and Malaysia, of whom two are foreign domestic workers.

Two cases are student's pass holders who arrived from India and the United States.

The other case reported today is a special pass holder who is a member of a sea crew. He arrived from Malaysia on a vessel and was tested on board without disembarking, MOH said.

Epidemiological investigations are in progress. 

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 MOH can detect asymptomatic cases.

MOH will also conduct serological tests for the close contacts to determine if the cases could have been infected by them.

Seventeen more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore's total recoveries to 60,202.

There are 40 cases still in hospital. Most of them are stable or improving, and one is in the intensive care unit. Another 206 are being isolated and cared for at community facilities.

The number of new COVID-19 cases in the community has remained stable at two cases per week in the past two weeks. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also remained stable at two cases per week in the past two weeks, said MOH. 

Of the 178 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported between Mar 29 and Apr 4, 63 cases have tested positive for their serology tests, 86 have tested negative and 29 serology test results are pending.

MORE EMPLOYEES MAY RETURN TO THE WORKPLACE FROM APR 5

From Monday, more employees may return to the workplace and split team arrangements will no longer be mandatory as Singapore eases some COVID-19 measures.  

Co-chair of the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force Lawrence Wong announced last week that Singapore will shift from working-from-home as a default mode to a more “flexible and hybrid way” of working. 

READ: With easing of workplace COVID-19 rules, firms make adjustments while others take wait-and-see approach

Up to 75 per cent of employees can now be at the workplace at any one time, up from the current 50 per cent. The current cap on the time an employee spends at the workplace will also be lifted.

Companies are encouraged to stagger start times for employees and implement flexible working hours, said Mr Wong, adding that safe management measures must still be adhered to.

As of Sunday, Singapore has reported a total of 60,478 COVID-19 cases and 30 fatalities from the disease. 

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram