The Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced 30 new cases of Covid-19 in Singapore on Jan. 1, 2021.

This brings the total number of cases to 58,629.

Three locally-transmitted cases

There are three cases of locally-transmitted Covid-19 infection in the community today.

Two were linked to past cases and one remains unlinked.

Here's a breakdown of the three community cases.

1. 52-year-old felt unwell but did not test for Covid-19 immediately

A 52-year-old female Singaporean was reported to have developed symptoms on Dec. 28. She sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic the next day.

She did not get tested for Covid-19 immediately despite being advised to do so.  She was also given five days of medical leave, during which she had to stay at home.

She was placed on quarantine on Dec. 31 after being identified as a close contact to previous Covid-19 cases.

She is a family member of a Singaporean harbour pilot who previously tested positive (Case 58817).

The woman was then conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in an ambulance, and tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day.

Her serological test result came back negative, suggesting this is a current infection.

She works as a client analyst at Deutsche Bank (One Raffles Quay) but does not interact with clients or external parties.

Her last day of work was on Dec. 28.

2. 14-year-old Raffles Girls' School student tested positive after visiting friend's house

Another locally-transmitted case is a close contact of a marine surveyor who was reported Covid-19 positive on Dec. 30, 2020 (Case 58810).

The 14-year-old Singaporean is a friend of Case 58843 who is a family member of Case 58810 and was reported as a Covid case on Dec. 31.

She went to their house for a few hours on Dec. 27 when Case 58810 was around.

She was identified as a close contact of Case 58810 on Dec. 29 and was placed on quarantine.

She developed a fever the next day and was sent to KK Women's and Children Hospital in an ambulance, where she tested positive for Covid-19 subsequently on Dec. 31.

Her serological test result has come back negative, suggesting this is likely a current infection.

She studies at Raffles Girls' School but had not been in school since October 2020.

3. Sole unlinked case is a Japanese Work Pass holder who was initially tested negative

A 53-year-old Japanese man was also reported to be a locally-transmitted Covid-19 case today.

He is a Work Pass holder who is employed at Kurosawa & Partners Pte Ltd (18 Robinson Road) but has been working from his home at Rochor Road.

He arrived in Singapore from Japan on Nov. 26 and was placed on Stay-Home Notice at a dedicated facility until Dec. 10.

A pre-departure test he took on Nov. 24 and another test on Dec. 6 showed he was not infected with Covid-19.

He was asymptomatic and was tested positive with Covid-19 on Dec. 31 when he was about to return to Japan.

He was conveyed to NCID the next day and his serological test result has come back positive.

27 imported cases

Of the 30 new cases, 27 are imported.

All imported cases had been placed on Stay-Home Notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

Among the imported cases, one is a Singapore Citizen and four are Singapore Permanent Residents. They returned from Indonesia, India and Myanmar.

16 are Work Permit holders who arrived from Indonesia, India, Myanmar and the Philippines. Of these 14 are foreign domestic workers.

One case is a Short-Term Pass holder who arrived from Indonesia to visit his Singaporean child.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing and identified close contacts of the new cases have been isolated and placed on quarantine.

10 more discharged cases

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

In all, 58, 459 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

There are currently 56 confirmed cases who are still in the hospital. One is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

85 are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

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

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Top image by Zheng Zhangxin