2 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, both imported

MOH reported 2 new Covid-19 cases, which are both imported, on Dec 2, 2020. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

SINGAPORE - There were two new coronavirus cases confirmed as at Wednesday noon (Dec 2), taking Singapore's total to 58,230.

Both are imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notices on arrival in Singapore.

No new cases in the community and from within worker's dormitories were announced.

More details will be announced on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday, MOH said a cleaner who works at the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 3 tested positive for Covid-19.

The patient was the sole community case reported on Tuesday.

She is 66 years old and lives in Yishun with her husband, who is unemployed, said MOH.

She tested positive on Monday and was asymptomatic when tested. Her infection was detected through MOH's bi-weekly rostered routine testing (RRT) of front-line workers.

The patient was taken to hospital after her test came back positive.

Her serological test was negative, which likely indicates a current infection, said the ministry.

MOH added that she wears personal protective equipment at work, including face mask, face shield, gloves and gown, and that her earlier swabs done as part of RRT were negative.

Epidemiological investigations are in progress. All of her identified close contacts, including her family members and co-workers, have been isolated and placed in quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine periods.

The other locally transmitted case on Tuesday was a patient from a foreign workers' dormitory, the first such case after 20 consecutive days without one.

The patient was detected through proactive surveillance, said MOH. All his close contacts at the dormitory and his workplace have been placed in quarantine.

He was among 10 new coronavirus cases reported on Tuesday.

The remaining eight patients on Tuesday were imported. They comprised five work permit holders coming from Indonesia and Myanmar, one work pass holder coming from Japan, one special pass holder from Indonesia and a one-year-old child coming from Russia who holds a long-term visit pass.

They were all placed on stay-home notice at dedicated facilities on arrival in Singapore.

Seven of the eight were asymptomatic and tested positive while serving their notice.

The special pass holder, a 43-year-old Indonesian man, experienced an onset of symptoms on Sunday and tested positive on Monday.

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On Tuesday, MOH also added two food outlets at Changi Airport Terminal 3 - Kopitiam and Heavenly Wang - to the list of places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were still infectious.

The ministry provides the list of locations that infectious Covid-19 patients visited for at least 30 minutes and the times they visited to get people who were at those places at the same time to monitor their health closely for two weeks from the date of their visit.

The full list of locations and times can be found on the gov.sg website.

MOH has said that close contacts would have been notified and that there is no need to avoid these places as they would have been cleaned if necessary.

With five cases discharged on Tuesday, 58,124 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

The number of unlinked cases in the community remains low, with a total of five in the past week.

A total of 29 patients remained in hospital on Tuesday, with none in intensive care, while 31 were recuperating in community facilities.

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

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