218 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore on Monday, including 1 in community

SINGAPORE - There are 218 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Monday noon (June 22), taking Singapore's total to 42,313.

They include a community case who is a work pass holder, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday.

Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the vast majority of the other cases on Monday, said the MOH.

More details will be announced on Monday night.

On Sunday, MOH announced that a Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student was among 262 new cases of Covid-19 reported

The 22-year-old, who has not gone to the university since early April, was tested as part of proactive screening at the institutes of higher learning for those diagnosed with acute respiratory infection when they first see a doctor, said MOH.

He was confirmed to have Covid-19 on Saturday after the onset of symptoms last Thursday.

The student was among 10 new community cases announced on Sunday.

The other nine were a 58-year-old Singaporean man, a 33-year-old male permanent resident, three work pass holders and four work permit holders.

The Singaporean and PR were asymptomatic and were detected due to proactive surveillance of people working or staying in dormitories. They were both confirmed to have the coronavirus infection on Saturday.

The three work pass and four work permit holders were also asymptomatic.

Three of the 10 community cases were tested as they work in essential services, and four were swabbed as they work or reside in dormitories.

The remaining 252 cases involved migrant workers in the dormitories.

The daily average of new community cases has dropped to four the past week from eight the week before, said MOH on Sunday.

In the same period, the average number of unlinked community cases has been stable at two a day.

With 718 new cases discharged on Sunday, 34,932 patients have fully recovered from the disease. Only one patient remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

The number of patients in the ICU has been on a decline since it peaked on April 10 with 32.

A total of 179 cases remain in hospital, while 6,948 are recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 26 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 10 who tested positive have died of other causes.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 9.05 million people. More than 470,000 people have died.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.