The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 158 new cases of Covid-19 infection on Wednesday, July 8.

This brings the total number of cases to 45,298.

New cases

The vast majority of the new cases continue to be Work Permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories.

There are nine cases in the community, of whom four are Singaporeans or Permanent Residents, two are Work Pass holders and three are Work Permit Holders.

Of the nine cases in the community, four were picked up as a result of proactive surveillance and screening, and two had already been placed on quarantine earlier.

Six of the cases are asymptomatic, and were all detected through proactive testing. 

Three of the community cases today are linked to previous cases or clusters. Of these, two of them (Cases 45250 and 45307) had been identified as contacts of previously confirmed cases, and had been tested during their quarantine to determine their status.

The remaining case (Case 45288) is asymptomatic, and was detected because of proactive screening of workers in essential services. 

Six of the community cases are currently unlinked. Of these, three cases (Cases 45290, 45289 and 45291) were tested as they work in essential services, even though they are asymptomatic.

The remaining three cases (Cases 45183, 45227 and 45242) were swabbed under the enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at first presentation to a doctor. This helps to detect infected individuals early and to quickly contain further spread.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for these cases. 

Three imported cases

Amongst the three imported cases, two of them (Cases 45196 and 45197) are Indian nationals who are Dependant’s Pass holders, and who returned to Singapore from India on June 26.

The remaining case (Case 45241) is a Singaporean who returned to Singapore from the Philippines on June 26.

All of them had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and had been tested while serving their SHN.

One new cluster, seven clusters closed

MOH announced one new cluster on July 8:

• One of the newly confirmed cases is linked to eight previous cases to form a new cluster at a dormitory at 12 Kian Teck Crescent.

MOH has been monitoring existing clusters for any further transmission.

Meanwhile, the following dormitories have been cleared, and now house only recovered individuals and those who have recently tested negative for Covid-19 infection. As such, the following clusters have now been closed:

• 10 Tuas South Street 12
• 109 Ubi Avenue 4
• 11 Defu Lane 1
• 12 Kwong Min Road
• 18 Woodlands Industrial Park E1
• 55 Genting Lane
• 6 Tuas View Square

Increase in new cases in the community

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of eight cases per day in the week before, to an average of 14 per day in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased, from an average of four cases per day in the week before, to an average of six per day in the past week.

One passed away, 215 remain in hospitals

There is one reported death today, involving Case 45227, a 69 year-old male Singaporean, who passed away on July 7.

He had been found unresponsive at his place of residence and was conveyed to Sengkang General Hospital’s emergency department. He was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on the same day.

He had a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, hypothyroidism and chronic kidney disease. The preliminary cause of death is cardiorespiratory failure, pending further investigations by the Coroner.

There are currently 215 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

3,734 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19.

26 have passed away from complications due to Covid-19 infection.

In all, 321 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community facilities, bringing the total number of people who have recovered from the virus to 41,323.

Top photo via NUH / Facebook.