Singapore reports record 386 new COVID-19 cases and 9th death

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 386 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Apr 13), taking the national total to 2,918. 

A 65-year-old male Singapore citizen also died from complications due to COVID-19 infection on Monday afternoon, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update. 

He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on Apr 9. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital has reached out to his family and is extending assistance to them, MOH added.

This brings Singapore’s COVID-19 death toll to nine. 

Four new clusters were also reported – door supplier CitiWall, ABC Hostel at Jalan Kubor and another two dormitories.

Of the new cases, 280 are linked to existing clusters, with the vast majority of them being work permit holders in dormitories. 

Twelve are linked to earlier cases, of which seven are Singapore citizens or permanent residents and five are work permit holders.

INTERACTIVE: All the COVID-19 clusters at dorms and construction sites 

As of Monday, the S11 Dormitory @ Punggol cluster remains the largest cluster. With an additional 222 new cases linked to the dorm, it has a total of 586 confirmed cases now.

A total of 94 cases have no links to earlier cases, pending contact tracing. Of this, 21 are Singapore citizens or permanent residents, five are S Pass holders, 64 are work permit holders, and the rest are long term pass holders.

There were no imported cases on Monday.

4 NEW CLUSTERS, ONE CLUSTER CLOSED

One cluster at SAFRA Jurong has now been closed, MOH said after no new cases were linked to it.

“As there have been no more cases linked to the private dinner function at SAFRA Jurong on 15 February for the past two incubation periods (i.e. 28 days), the cluster has now been closed,” the ministry said.

However, there were four new clusters reported on Monday – CitiWall, ABC Hostel, Tech Park Crescent dormitory and Kranji Dormitory.

At CitiWall, six of the earlier confirmed cases were linked here. 

One of the confirmed cases on Monday was linked to six previous cases, making ABC Hostel a new cluster.

At Tech Park Crescent dormitory, one of new cases was linked to eight previous cases.

Six of the earlier confirmed cases have now been linked to Kranji Dormitory.

Eight additional cases were linked to the cluster at Westlite Toh Guan dormitory, which has a total of 84 confirmed cases now.

Westlite Woodlands dormitory has a total of nine cases after one new case was reported.

Toh Guan Dormitory has 67 confirmed cases, with 22 new ones linked to the facility.

In total, Sungei Tengah Lodge has 157 confirmed cases, with 77 new cases linked on Monday.

Two additional cases were linked to the cluster at Tampines Dormitory, which has a total of 53 cases now.

At Cochrane Lodge I, seven additional cases were linked to the cluster and it now has a total of 39 cases.

Cochrane Lodge II has 25 cases in total, after eight additional cases were linked to this cluster on Monday.

Six additional cases were linked to the cluster at Cassia @ Penjuru, which has a total of 15 confirmed cases now.

Three new cases were linked to the cluster at North Coast Lodge, which has a total of nine cases.

There are a total of 29 confirmed cases at Acacia Lodge, with 14 additional cases linked to the cluster.

At Tuas View Dormitory, four additional cases were linked to it on Monday and it now has a total of 12 confirmed cases.

Five additional cases were linked to the cluster at 36 Woodlands Industrial Park E1, which has a total of 25 cases.

The cluster at 31 Sungei Kadut Avenue has a total of 10 cases now, after three more were linked to it on Monday.

There are six cases in total at 21B Senoko Loop and 13 Senoko Way, after two new links were found here on Monday.

Three additional cases were linked to the cluster at a construction site at Project Glory, which has a total of 49 confirmed cases.

Three additional cases were also linked to the cluster at the renovation sites at the National University Hospital, taking its total to 23 confirmed cases.

The cluster at the Kenyon/ UBS construction site has a total of 11 cases, after three additional cases were linked to it on Monday.

At the Mustafa Centre cluster, there are a total of 83 confirmed cases after one more case was linked to it on Monday.

One additional case was linked to the cluster at McDonald’s, which has a total of five cases.

NURSING HOME RESIDENT TESTS POSITIVE

One of the new patients, Case 2,561, is a 77-year-old resident at Vanguard Healthcare’s Woodlands Care Home at Woodlands Rise.

The man tested positive for COVID-19 on Apr 12 and is now in an isolation room at Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) said in a statement.

MOH and AIC are in close contact with the care home to provide advice and support. 

The home has conducted a thorough clean and disinfection of the ward and affected areas, AIC said, adding that contact tracing is ongoing. All those who had close contact with the man will be quarantined.

“We are working to provide (Woodlands Care Home) with manpower support during this period if required to ensure service continuity, so that its residents will not be affected,” the agency said.
 
As an added precaution, the care home will close its senior care centre – one of the designated centres that are opened during the “circuit breaker” period to care for clients who have no alternative arrangements.

AIC has designated another centre as a replacement and alternative arrangements have been made for the clients, the agency added.

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A total of 26 cases have been discharged and 586 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, MOH said.

Of the 1,158 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving. 29 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 1,165 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19 are isolated and cared for at community facilities, MOH said in its update.

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INTERACTIVE: All the COVID-19 clusters at dorms and construction sites 

On Sunday, MOH gave an overview of the trend in daily COVID-19 cases based on different transmission types.

The number of imported cases rose around mid-March due to a large number of returnees, but has since come down to zero. The number of cases in the community increased following a wave of new imported cases, but has seen some moderation in recent days in light of safe distancing measures put in place earlier.

However, the number of work permit and dormitory-related cases has increased sharply and this is likely to go up, especially as authorities undertake “more aggressive testing” in dormitories, said MOH.

Several dormitories have been declared as isolation areas, after the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

READ: S$300 fine for flouting circuit breaker measures, no more warnings: Masagos

READ: 40 fines, more than 3,100 warnings issued for safe distancing offences

Singapore has put in place strict safe distancing measures during what it calls a circuit breaker period that lasts for a month until May 4. Fines have been issued to members of the public for flouting these measures.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had on Friday appealed to older Singaporeans to stay at home for their own safety during the “circuit breaker” period.

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