Singapore reported 291 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (27 June), bringing the national total to 43,246.
5-year-old boy among COVID-19 cases
Of the new cases reported, the vast majority continue to be Work Permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) also confirmed that there are 11 new cases in the community. Five of them are Singaporeans/Permanent Residents and six are Work Pass holders.
According to MOH, among the five Singaporean cases, three are from a family cluster—which includes is a 5-year-old boy.
The family is close contacts with a previously confirmed case who had been tested as he works at a dormitory.
5-year-old Boy Among COVID-19 Cases — a close contact of a previously confirmed case who had been tested as he works at a dormitory. | Image source: Sengkang General Hospital
“All 3 cases had already been quarantined and were swabbed during quarantine to verify their status. Another case was detected due to our proactive surveillance of persons working at dormitories, even though he is asymptomatic. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining case,” MOH said.
The health ministry said the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of four cases per day in the week before to an average of six per day in the past week.
“We will continue to closely monitor these numbers, as well as the cases detected through our surveillance programme,” MOH added.
COVID-19 Patient dies from injuries sustained from fall from height
MOH also announced that a 27-year-old Bangladeshi man who contracted COVID-19 has died from multiple injuries resulting from a fall from height. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 6 June and passed away on 25 June.
The death is not added to Singapore’s COVID-19 death toll, according to MOH, as “only cases where the attending doctor or pathologist attributes the primary or underlying cause of death as due to COVID-19 infection will be added to the COVID-19 death count.”
MOH said a total of 338 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 37,163 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.
There are currently 174 cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most of them are stable or improving, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Those Aged 13 And Above With Acute Respiratory Infection To Be Tested From Jul 1
Last week, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that from 1 July, all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI) at first presentation to a doctor will be tested for COVID-19.
The move is part of government’s measures it has now put in place to curb the spread of the virus in Singapore as MOH expects COVID-19 cases here to rise as the country gradually reopens after the two-month-long “circuit breaker” period.
“We have expanded our active surveillance efforts to more population groups who are deemed vulnerable or who have a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19,” MOH said in a statement. This includes the completion of the recent testing of staff and residents of MOH and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) residential homes serving the elderly, as well as all staff of preschools.
The Ministry of Education’s (MOE) extended screening for all school staff and students above 12 years old diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI). | Image source: MOE/Ong Ye Kung/Facebook
As for children aged 12 and below who are diagnosed with ARI, the health ministry said doctors will continue to assess if a test is required “given different clinical considerations for young children.”
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