SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 35 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Mar 30), including 26 with no recent travel history.
Three new clusters have been identified – the S11 Dormitory @ Punggol at 2 Seletar North Link, serviced apartments Wilby Residences at 25 Wilby Road, as well as a pub called Hero’s at 69 Circular Road.
One of the cases in the Hero’s cluster is also linked to an existing cluster at Dover Court International School.
Of the new cases, nine are imported and had travelled to Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a press release.
Twelve of the new cases are linked to previous cases, while 14 currently have no links. Monday’s update brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 879.
Contact tracing is under way for 79 locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to affected countries or regions, MOH added.
Of the 420 cases who are still in hospitals, most are stable or improving, the health ministry said. Nineteen cases are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
A total of 228 cases who are clinically well but tested positive for COVID-19 have been isolated at Concord International Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital and the community isolation facility at D’Resort NTUC.
Another 16 patients have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In total, 228 people in Singapore have fully recovered from COVID-19.
THREE NEW CLUSTERS; ONE LINKED TO AN EXISTING CLUSTER
The S11 Dormitory @ Punggol is linked to four cases (826, 829, 852 and 860). Wilby Residences is linked to seven cases (439, 678, 793, 818, 848, 864 and 873), while five cases (192, 556, 657, 670 and 813) have been traced to Hero’s at Circular Road.
Patient 556 is also part of the cluster at Dover Court International School, which was first identified on Mar 25. Eight cases are currently linked to the cluster and all but one are staff members of the school.
Cases 848, 852, 860, 864 and 873 were among those announced on Monday.
One of the new cases reported – case 853 – is a 20-year-old Malaysian man who is a Singapore work pass holder. He was in Malaysia from Mar 16 to Mar 17, and reported onset of symptoms on Mar 28. Test results confirmed COVID-19 infection on the afternoon of Mar 29.
The patient is employed as a porter at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), and had not gone to work after the onset of symptoms.
He is currently warded in an isolation room at NCID.
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Singapore reported its third death from COVID-19 on Sunday. The patient was a 70-year-old Singaporean man with no recent travel history to affected countries and regions.
The patient’s profile matched that of case 109, who was previously identified by his family as Mr Chung Ah Lay.
Mr Chung was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on Feb 29 and tested positive for the infection on Mar 2. He developed serious complications and died after 27 days in the intensive care unit. The health ministry said he had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.
Mr Chung’s daughter, Ms Ashley Chung, thanked those who extended their condolences to her family.
Writing on Facebook on Sunday, Ms Chung said: “We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to those fellow Singaporeans, including PM Lee Hsien Loong who extended your condolences to the Chung family. We also wish to thank the medical team in SGH for tirelessly looking after my dad.”
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