As of Monday noon (18 Jan), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed an additional 14 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore.
This brings the total number of infection cases to 59,127.
Amongst the new cases today, 9 are asymptomatic and were detected from proactive screening and surveillance, while 5 were symptomatic.
There are two new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection.
“Based on our investigations so far, the cases are in the community, and there are no new cases in the dormitories,” said MOH.
Case 59393 is a 43 year-old female Singaporean who is the spouse of Case 593651, and a homemaker. She developed a runny nose on 10 January, and subsequently loss of taste, sore throat and diarrhoea on 12 January, but had not sought medical treatment.
As part of our contact tracing efforts, she was contacted by MOH on 16 January following the confirmation of Case 59365, and was tested for COVID-19 when she reported these symptoms. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day, and she was conveyed to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in an ambulance. Her serological test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.
Case 59395 is a 66 year-old female Malaysian national who is a Long-Term Visit Pass holder, and has been residing in Singapore since January 2020. She is a retiree who is a family member of Case 59365. She developed acute respiratory infection (ARI) symptoms and diarrhoea on 9 January, and subsequently loss of taste on 14 January, but had not sought medical treatment.
As she had been identified as a close contact of Case 59365, she was contacted by MOH on 16 January and tested for COVID-19 when she reported these symptoms. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection the next day, and she was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in an ambulance. Her serological test result has come back positive. Together with her COVID-19 symptoms, this indicates a likely recent infection with onset on 9 January.
Epidemiological investigations are ongoing. In the meantime, all the identified close contacts of the cases, including their family members, have been isolated and placed on quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period so that the authority can detect asymptomatic cases.
In addition, there are 12 new imported cases, who had been placed on Stay-Home Notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.
Amongst the 12 imported cases, 2 (Cases 59394 and 59400) are Singaporeans and 4 (Cases 59388, 59389, 59397 and 59399) are Singapore Permanent Residents who returned from India, Mexico, Pakistan, Switzerland, UK and US.
1 (Case 59398) is a Dependant’s Pass holder who arrived from India.
1 (Case 59392) is a Student’s Pass holder who arrived from Czech Republic.
4 (Cases 59390, 59391, 59401 and 59402) are Work Permit holders who arrived from Bangladesh, India and Malaysia.
Update on condition of confirmed cases
22 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 58,868 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.
There are currently 44 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and none is in the intensive care unit. 186 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.