29 new Covid-19 cases, all imported - highest daily figure in 3 months

There were 29 new coronavirus cases confirmed yesterday, of which all were imported, taking Singapore's total to 58,461.

They were placed on stay-home notice or isolated on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Yesterday's imported figure is the highest since March 28, when there were 42 such cases.

It is also the highest daily count since Sept 21, when 31 cases were reported - nine imported and 22 from within workers' dormitories.

Among the imported cases yesterday, four were Singaporeans or permanent residents and 23 are foreigners who are currently employed in Singapore, including 21 foreign domestic workers who hold work permits.

No new community cases and none from workers' dormitories were reported yesterday.

In an update last night, MOH said the sole locally transmitted case reported on Monday had a positive serological test, indicating a likely past infection.

The ministry said on Monday that on Dec 14, the 39-year-old woman and her family had gone on a Southern Islands tour with two other families, and their group had 12 people in all. This is seven more than the five allowed in phase two of Singapore's reopening.

Of the 29 imported cases announced yesterday, three are Singaporeans who returned from the United States, Costa Rica and Indonesia, and one is a permanent resident who returned from India.

Another two are work pass holders who arrived from the Philippines and the United States.

The 21 foreign domestic workers currently employed in Singapore arrived from the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar.

Imported: 29 (3 Singaporeans, 1 permanent resident, 2 work pass holders, 21 work permit holders, 2 short-term visit pass holders)

In community: 0

In dormitories: 0

New community cases in the past week: 1 (1 unlinked case)

Active cases: 128

In hospitals: 47 (0 in ICU)

In community facilities: 81

Deaths: 29

Patients with Covid-19 who died from other causes: 15

Total discharged: 58,289

Discharged yesterday: 17

TOTAL CASES: 58,461

The remaining two imported cases are short-term visit pass holders. One, a 46-year-old female Indian national, arrived here from India to visit a Singaporean relative, while the other, a 22-year-old Indonesian man, is a crew member of a ship which arrived from Indonesia. He had not disembarked from the ship until he was taken to a quarantine facility, said MOH.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained low, with a total of one such case in the past week, who is currently unlinked.

With 17 cases discharged yesterday, 58,289 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 47 patients remained in hospital yesterday, with none in intensive care, while 81 were recuperating in community facilities.

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