Cluster at Kallang firm grows to eight with new case

The sole locally transmitted Covid-19 case reported yesterday has been linked to the cluster at BS Industrial & Construction Supply in Kallang, bringing the number of cases in this cluster to eight.

She is a Malaysian national who works in sales at the company, and is a co-worker of a 39-year-old permanent resident who was the first case detected in the cluster, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement.

The 26-year-old tested positive on Thursday during her quarantine, after being identified as a close contact of the 39-year old man. She was asymptomatic, and was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases after testing positive.

There were also 14 imported cases, bringing Singapore's total to 59,250.

One of the imported cases is a 29-year-old work pass holder who is a Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew member.

She travelled to Britain for work between Jan 12 and Jan 13, and returned to Singapore on Jan 14.

The Indian national tested negative for Covid-19 on arrival, but developed a fever on Jan 17 and went to a general practitioner's clinic. She lost her sense of smell on Wednesday, and was then tested for Covid-19. Her test came back positive yesterday.

MOH said she mostly stayed at home between the onset of her symptoms and being taken to hospital yesterday.

The other 13 imported cases comprise two Singaporeans, one permanent resident, one dependant's pass holder, three work pass holders, three work permit holders, one short-term visit pass holder and two special pass holders.

The special pass holders are sea crew who were tested on board their respective vessels which came from China and Timor Leste.

The Singaporeans and permanent resident were returning from Malaysia, Mauritius and Myanmar. The other pass holders came from France, India and Indonesia.

The number of new cases in the community has increased to 21 cases in the past week, from two cases in the week before.

Imported: 14 (2 Singaporeans, 1 PR, 1 dependant's pass holder, 4 work pass holders, 3 work permit holders, 1 short-term visit pass holder, 2 special pass holders)

In community: 1

In dormitories: 0

New community cases in the past week: 21 (5 unlinked cases)

Active cases: 238

In hospitals: 41 (1 in ICU)

In community facilities: 197

Deaths: 29

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

Total discharged: 58,968

Discharged yesterday: 24

TOTAL CASES: 59,250

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from two cases to five cases over the same time period.

With 24 cases discharged yesterday, 58,968 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 41 patients remain in hospital, with one in critical condition in the intensive care unit, while 197 are recuperating in community facilities.

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