60-year-old Singaporean man dies due to Covid-19 complications; 2 NUH housekeepers among new cases

[UPDATED, 11.50pm]:

A 60-year-old Singaporean man has died from complications due to Covid-19 infection on Friday (May 1).

In an evening update, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said the man was confirmed to have the infection on April 13 and had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.

It added that the National Centre for Infectious Diseases has reached out to his family and is extending assistance to them.

A total of 932 new coronavirus cases were reported in Singapore today, stated MOH.

Out of these, 11 cases are from within the community, of which five involve Singaporeans/PRs and six are Work Pass holders. 

Of the rest, 16 cases are Work Permit Holders residing outside dormitories, with a majority of 905 cases being Work Permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories, said MOH.

The total count of coronaviruses cases in Singapore now stands at 17,101. 

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Friday's number is the highest in recent days, but marks the eighth day in a row that coronavirus cases in Singapore have dipped below 1,000. On Thursday, there were 528 new cases in Singapore.

There have been no imported cases today.

In its statement, MOH said that the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of 25 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 12 per day in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased, from an average of 16 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 6 per day in the past week.

Among Work Permit holders residing outside dormitories, the number of new cases decreased from an average of 27 cases per day in the week before to an average of 14 per day in the past week.

2 NUH housekeepers among new cases

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Two National University Hospital (NUH) employees are among those found to be infected with Covid-19. The Malaysian citizens, aged 24 and 28, work as housekeepers.

Both men have no recent travel history to affected countries or regions and were confirmed to have the infection on April 28.

One of them is currently warded at NUH while the other is at Singapore General Hospital. The 24-year-old had not gone to work since the onset of symptoms, while the other had gone to work prior to being admitted.

SingPost cluster closed, 7 new clusters announced

Of the new cases, 70 per cent are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.

MOH also announced seven new clusters on Friday, including Joo Koon Lodge and Tuas South Incineration Plant.

The other clusters are at 19 Kian Teck Road, 12 Tuas Place, 15 Tuas View Square, 20 Sungei Kadut Avenue and 148 Woodlands Industrial Park E5.

As there have been no more cases linked to SingPost Centre for the past 28 days, the cluster has now been closed. In the past week, MOH said it has uncovered links for 921 previously unlinked cases.

24 more people have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 1,268 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.

Of the 1,764 cases who are still in hospital, most are in stable condition or improving. 23 are in critical condition, while 14,053 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. 

This brings the total number of cases to 17,101.

The coronavirus death toll in Singapore now stands at 16.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

candicecai@asiaone.com