SINGAPORE - The wife of the 82-year-old retiree reported to have Covid-19 on Wednesday (March 3) is the sole new coronavirus case in the community announced on Thursday.

The 81-year-old Singaporean developed a fever and chills on Feb 27 but did not seek medical attention and recovered on the same day, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

MOH added that these symptoms might have been due to the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, which the woman had received on Feb 26.

As the retiree was a close contact of her husband, she was placed under quarantine on March 2, and was tested for Covid-19 as part of the Health Ministry's protocol.

Her test result came back positive for Covid-19 infection the next day, and she was taken in an ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

The woman's serological test result is negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

As the vaccine does not contain live virus, she could not have been infected by it, said MOH.

"It is possible for one to be infected just before or just after vaccination as it typically takes a few weeks for an individual to build up immunity after completing vaccination," it added.

There were also 18 new imported cases confirmed by MOH, taking Singapore's total to 59,998.

They tested positive while serving stay-home notices after their arrival in Singapore, said MOH.

The imported cases arrived from several countries including Ghana, India and Bangladesh.

Junction 8, First Culinary Restaurant at the Institute of Technical Education College Central and Teck Ghee Community Club are among places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were still infectious, said the Health Ministry.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from four cases in the week before to three cases in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at two cases per week in the past two weeks.

With eight cases discharged on Thursday, 59,842 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

A total of 24 patients remain in hospital, including one in critical condition in the intensive care unit, while 88 are recuperating in community facilities.

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