The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed 38 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday (Jan. 21).

This brings the total number of cases reported in Singapore to 59,235.

Four community cases

There are four cases in the community today, of whom one is currently unlinked and three are linked to previous cases.

Case 59512

Case 59512 is a 43-year-old female Singaporean who is the spouse of Case 59429. She works from home as an online trader and does not physically interact with her clients.

She was placed on quarantine on Jan. 18 when Case 59429 was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection.

On Jan. 20, she was tested for Covid-19 even though she is asymptomatic. Her test came back positive on the same day, and she was conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Her serology test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Case 59513

Case 59513 is a 46 year-old female Malaysian national who is a Work Pass holder. She works as a sales personnel at Toppan Merrill Pte Ltd (3 Church Street) but does not interact with clients.

She is a household contact of Case 59474.

She developed a blocked nose on Jan. 19 and stayed at home for most of the day. As she had been identified as a close contact of Case 59474, she was contacted by MOH on Jan. 20 and placed on quarantine.

She reported her symptoms and was conveyed to Sengkang General Hospital where she was tested for Covid-19. Her test came back positive on the same day.

Her serology test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Case 59516

Case 59516 is a 35 year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who works as a sales personnel at BS Industrial & Construction Supply Pte Ltd (34 Kallang Place).

He is a co-worker of Case 59429.

He developed a sore throat on Jan. 18 but did not seek medical treatment. As he had been identified as a close contact of Case 59429, he was contacted by MOH on the same day but failed to report his symptom.

On Jan. 20, he was tested for Covid-19 while under quarantine. His result came back positive on the same day, and he was subsequently conveyed to the National University Hospital.

His serology test result is pending.

Case 59518

Case 59518 is a 42 year-old male Singaporean who works as a dive personnel at Ocean Works Asia Pte Ltd (Block 6, 13 Jalan Terusan).

He had travelled to Indonesia for work between Nov. 4 and Dec. 13, and served SHN at a dedicated facility upon his return to Singapore until Dec. 27.

His swab test done on Dec. 24 during SHN was negative for Covid-19.

He is asymptomatic, and was detected when he took a Covid-19 test on Jan. 20 as part of the requirement for shore-based personnel going onboard a vessel to be tested.

His result came back positive for Covid-19 infection on the same day and he was conveyed to NCID.

His serological test result has come back positive, which indicates a likely past infection.

Given the relatively long time interval between his travel and positive Covid-19 test, we have classified this case as locally transmitted.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing.

34 imported cases

Amongst the 34 imported cases,

• One (Case 59517) is a Singapore Permanent Resident who returned from the U.S.
• One (Case 59501) is a Dependant’s Pass holder who arrived from the UAE.
• One (Case 59497) is a Long-Term Visit Pass holder who arrived from the U.S.
• Two (Cases 59486 and 59487) are Work Pass holders who arrived from India and the UAE.
• 26 are Work Permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, India and Indonesia, of whom one (Case 59503) is a foreign domestic worker.
• One (Case 59514) is a Short-Term Visit Pass holder who arrived from India to visit her child who is a Singapore Permanent Resident.
• Two (Cases 59479 and 59515) are Special Pass holders who are sea crew. Case 59479 arrived from Indonesia to board a vessel docked in Singapore, and Case 59515 arrived onboard a vessel from Indonesia and had not disembarked. He was tested for Covid-19, and conveyed to the hospital when his result came back positive.

Of the 34 cases, 33 had already been placed on SHN or isolated upon arrival in Singapore and were tested while serving SHN or while under isolation.

Case 59517 is a Singapore Permanent Resident who arrived from the U.S. on Jan. 17 for work purposes, and was tested for Covid-19 upon arrival.

His test came back negative on the same day, and he was on a controlled itinerary for the next few days.

On Jan. 20, he took a Covid-19 pre-departure test in preparation for a trip to the UK.

His result came back positive for Covid-19 infection on the same day and he was conveyed to the hospital.

Case 59511 is a Work Permit holder who arrived from India on Dec. 27 and served SHN at a dedicated facility until Jan. 10.

His swab done on Jan. 7 during SHN was negative for Covid-19, and subsequent tests on Jan. 11 and Jan. 13 were also negative.

His test on Jan. 19 came back positive for Covid-19 infection, although the Ct value was very high, which is indicative of a low viral load. His serological test result has also come back positive.

Given that these indicate likely past infection, MOH has classified the case as imported.

MOH said he is likely to be shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA, which are no longer transmissible and infective to others.

33 cases discharged

33 more cases of Covid-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.

In all, 58,959 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

There are currently 43 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.

204 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.

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

Four new locations

MOH regularly updates a list of public places visited by confirmed Covid-19 cases for more than 30 minutes when they were infectious.

Four new locations were added to the list on Jan. 21:

• Joo Chiat Complex (2 Joo Chiat Road), FairPrice, Jan. 13, 11:05am to 11:55am
• Hougang 105 Hainanese Village Centre (105 Hougang Avenue 1), Jan. 17, 8:45am to 9:30am
• NEX (23 Serangoon Central), Food Junction, Jan. 17, 6:45pm to 7:30pm
• Amoy Street Food Centre (7 Maxwell Road), Jan. 18, 12:10pm to 1:10pm

Top image adapted via Google Maps