249 new Covid-19 cases in Spore, including 16 in the community and 5 imported

SINGAPORE - There were 249 new coronavirus patients confirmed as of Wednesday noon (July 15), taking Singapore's total to 46,878.

They included 16 community cases, all of whom are work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday.

Of these 16 cases, four were close contacts of earlier cases, and had already been placed on quarantine.

Epidemiological investigations are being done for the other cases.

There were also five imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notices upon arrival in Singapore.

Migrant workers living in dormitories made up the vast majority of the other cases.

More details will be announced on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday, a 62-year-old Singaporean man who had a history of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol died from complications due to Covid-19 on Tuesday, said the ministry.

The patient, identified as Case 17,168, was confirmed to be Covid-19 positive on April 30, said MOH.

Sengkang General Hospital - where the man died - has contacted his family and is extending assistance to them.

He is the 27th patient to die from the virus here, while 14 who tested positive have died of other causes.

Seven cases in the community were announced on Tuesday, including one Singaporean, three work pass holders and three work permit holders.

Three of the community cases were linked to previous cases or clusters.

They were all identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and were tested during their quarantine even though they were asymptomatic.

The remaining four community cases are currently unlinked. They are all in the construction sector, and were swabbed as part of periodic screening of workers in essential services who are living outside dormitories.

Epidemiological investigations for the unlinked cases are being done.

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Two imported cases were also announced on Tuesday. Both are Singaporeans who returned from India last Thursday.

They had been placed on 14-day stay-home notices upon arrival in Singapore, and were tested while serving their notices.

Meanwhile, Dian Xiao Er restaurant in Jem was added to the MOH list of places visited by infectious Covid-19 patients.

A second visit to FoodXchange @ Admiralty, located at 8A Admiralty Street, was also added, but MOH did not say whether two patients made a visit separately or one patient visited the location twice.

Migrant workers staying in dormitories made up the remaining 338 cases.

MOH also announced a new cluster in a dormitory at 96 Kaki Bukit Industrial Terrace.

The average number of new daily cases in the community during a week has decreased from 14 cases two weeks ago to 13 in the past week.

However, the number of unlinked cases in the community during a week has increased from a daily average of six cases to seven over the same period.

With 196 cases discharged on Tuesday, 42,723 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 161 patients remain in hospital, while 3,704 are recuperating in community facilities. There are no patients in intensive care.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 13.4 million people. More than 580,000 people have died.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

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