SINGAPORE - There were 14 new coronavirus cases confirmed as at Monday noon (Jan 18), taking Singapore's total to 59,127.

There were 12 imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

They include two community cases and no cases from workers' dormitories.

More details will be announced on Monday night.

The two community cases announced on Sunday were linked to a Singapore Police Force para-veterinarian who was earlier confirmed to have Covid-19, forming a new cluster with four cases.

The first case, a 44-year-old Singaporean man, works as an administrative officer with the police at 2 Mowbray Road.

He had a dry throat on Jan 7, but did not see a doctor.

His case was picked up after special testing operations by MOH at his workplace last Friday following his colleague's positive test.

His test result returned positive the next day, and he was taken in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

A 44-year-old Singaporean woman in his family was the other community case. She also had symptoms but did not see a doctor.

MOH said she developed a fever and chills on Jan 9 and lost her sense of smell and taste last Wednesday, but had not sought medical treatment.

The housewife was contacted by MOH as part of contact tracing efforts last Saturday following her family member's positive test, and was tested when she reported having symptoms.

Her test result returned positive on Sunday, and she was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in an ambulance.

The two community cases' serological tests have returned negative, indicating that their infections are most likely current.

Said MOH: "We strongly urge everyone to do their part to reduce the risk of transmission. Those who are unwell, including those showing early/mild symptoms, should be socially responsible and seek medical attention immediately and stay at home to prevent the spread of illness to others."

The ministry also announced 28 imported cases on Sunday.

They include two Singaporeans and one permanent resident who returned from Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India respectively.

Another three are dependant's pass holders who arrived from India and the UAE, while two are long-term visit pass holders who arrived from India.

Five are work pass holders who arrived from India, Lebanon, the Philippines and the UAE.

One is a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from India to visit her Singaporean child.

The remaining 14 are work permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh and India, of whom one is a foreign domestic worker.

Meanwhile, three locations were added to a list of places visited by infectious Covid-19 patients. They are Changi Airport Terminal 2 Pass Office, Koufu in Yew Tee Point and Foodfare at Block 673B Choa Chu Kang Crescent.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at eight cases a week in the past two weeks. The number of unlinked cases in the community in a week decreased from five cases two weeks ago to four in the past week.

A total of 49 patients remained in hospital on Sunday, with none in intensive care, while 189 were recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 29 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive died of other causes.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December 2019, has infected more than 93 million people. More than 1.9 million people have died.