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The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed 181 new cases of Covid-19 in Singapore on Wednesday (July 21).

This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 63,621.

179 new locally-transmitted cases

There are 179 cases of locally-transmitted Covid-19 infection. 80 are linked to previous cases, and have already been placed on quarantine.

69 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance. 30 are currently unlinked.

130 are linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and eight belong to the KTV cluster.

Amongst the cases are four seniors above 70 years who are unvaccinated, and are at risk of serious illness.

There are two imported cases, who have already been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

Both developed the illness during SHN or isolation.

Increase in community cases

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 88 cases in the week before to 766 cases in the past week.

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 14 cases in the week before, to 82 cases in the past week.

The seven-day moving average number of all linked community cases and all unlinked community cases are 97.7 and 11.7 respectively.

Closure of Marina Bay Sands Casino, likely ongoing transmission

MOH said that it is investigating cases of Covid-19 infection involving individuals who worked in or visited Marina Bay Sands Casino.

To date, 11 cases have been linked to the cluster, and epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission at the Casino.

To break the chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning of the premises, Marina Bay Sands Casino will be closed to all members of the public from July 22 to Aug. 5.

To quickly uncover any community infection cases, special testing operations will be conducted for all staff of the Casino.

Free Covid-19 testing will be available to members of the public who had visited Marina Bay Sands Casino between July 7 and July 21.

More details on testing operations are available here.

Likely ongoing transmission at Sakura Entertainment

MOH is also investigating cases of Covid-19 infection amongst social hostesses who had frequented KTV lounges or clubs currently operating as F&B outlets, and their close social contacts.

Epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission at Sakura Entertainment, located at 517 Geylang Rd.

All visitors to the affected premises are advised to monitor their health closely, and to minimise social interactions as far as possible, for 14 days from their date of visit or interaction.

They are encouraged to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.

The ministry also advised all visitors to markets and food centres to avoid crowds and to do their marketing during off-peak hours, or at supermarkets. They are also advised to strictly observe safe management measures.

Collection of ART self-test kits at select markets and food centres

As an added layer of ringfencing to identify cases and prevent further transmission, MOH is also working with the People’s Association to distribute antigen rapid test (ART) self-test kits to individuals who had visited selected markets and food centres in the last 14 days, such as residents living in the vicinity of these centres.

From July 22 to 23, eligible persons are strongly encouraged to collect ART kits at Residents' Committee Centres in the vicinity of the following locations:

• Whampoa Drive Market (92 Whampoa Drive)
• 726 West Coast Market (726 West Coast Road).

Please refer to here to check on the nearest Residents’ Committee Centre for self-collection.

28 active clusters

There are currently 28 active clusters, ranging between three and 454 infections each.

Two new clusters were reported, including those linked to Case 65231 and those linked to the Marina Bay Sands Casino.

There are now a total of 215 cases linked to KTV lounges and clubs, and 454 linked to Jurong Fishery Port and Hong Lim Market & Food Centre.

Condition of hospitalised cases

There are currently 379 cases warded in the hospital, most of whom are well and under observation.

In addition, there are seven cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

There is continuing evidence that vaccination helps to prevent serious disease when one gets infected, MOH said.

Over the last 28 days, eight local cases required oxygen supplementation, were admitted to ICU or passed away. Six are unvaccinated, two are partially vaccinated and none was fully vaccinated.

Progress of vaccination programme

As of Jul. 20, MOH has administered a total of 6,837,539 doses of Covid-19 vaccines under the national vaccination programme.

This covers 4,165,024 individuals. 2,792,667 individuals have completed the full vaccination regimen, comprising those who have received two doses and recovered individuals with one dose.

In addition, 70,504 doses of Sinovac vaccines have been administered as of Jul. 20, covering 63,733 individuals.

Top image via Sarah Ackerman's flickr