354 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, including 8 in the community and 5 imported

Migrant workers living in dormitories made up the vast majority of the other cases. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

SINGAPORE - There were 354 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Thursday noon (July 23), taking Singapore's total to 49,098.

They include eight community cases, comprising four Singaporeans or permanent residents and four work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday.

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

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

More details will be announced on Thursday night.

On Wednesday, Changi Village Hawker Centre was added to the list of places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were infectious by MOH.

This was even as three new coronavirus clusters linked to dormitories emerged.

Other places added to the list on Wednesday were a Kopitiam outlet at Pasir Ris West Plaza and G7 Sinma Live Seafood Restaurant in Geylang.

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

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

The ministry announced three new dormitory clusters as well, located at 7 Kian Teck Crescent, 2 Tech Park Crescent and 12 Tech Park Crescent.

It added that six other worker dorms have been cleared of the virus and now house only recovered individuals and those who have recently tested negative for Covid-19 infection. As a result, the clusters linked to the dorms have now been closed.

The dorms are Cochrane Lodge II in Admiralty Road West; Hulett Dormitory in Senoko Drive, Shaw Lodge in Shaw Road, Tampines Dormitory in Tampines Place, the 31 Sungei Kadut Avenue dorm, and 230 Woodlands Industrial Park E5 dorm.

There were 310 new coronavirus cases confirmed by MOH on Wednesday.

They included seven community cases, comprising three Singaporeans, three work pass holders and one work permit holder, said the ministry.

There were also six imported cases - two Singaporeans, a permanent resident and three work pass holders.

The two Singaporeans are a 42-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man who arrived in Singapore from India on July 12. Both were asymptomatic and tested positive on Tuesday.

The PR is a 48-year-old woman who returned to Singapore from Kazakhstan on July 10.

She was asymptomatic and tested positive on Wednesday.

The three work pass holders are Filipino women aged 28, 31 and 34.

They arrived here from the Philippines on July 8 and July 10. They were asymptomatic and were confirmed positive between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Migrant workers living in dormitories made up the remaining 297 Covid-19 cases announced on Wednesday.

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

The number of unlinked cases in the community in a week has decreased from a daily average of eight cases to five over the same period.

Singapore has had 27 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 15.3 million people. More than 625,400 people have died.

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