Covid-19: Average daily number of community cases double from 4 to 8 in first week of circuit breaker exit

SINGAPORE — The average daily number of new Covid-19 cases in the community has doubled from four to eight in the first week of the circuit breaker exit, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Sunday (June 7).

The ministry confirmed 383 new cases of Covid-19 infection in Singapore, the vast majority of whom are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories.

This brings the tally to 37,910 infections.

"Overall, 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 eight per day in the past week," MOH said.

The past week saw Singapore embarking on a phased exit of the circuit breaker period, starting from June 2.

The number of unlinked cases in the community, meanwhile, has remained stable at an average of four per day in the past two weeks, MOH said.

Of the new infections, 14 are cases in the community.

Ten are Singaporeans or permanent residents, five of whom were picked up as a result of proactive testing of school staff and students above the age of 12 who had been diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI).

MOH said epidemiological evidence suggests that these patients were likely to have been infected during the circuit breaker period, and not after school re-opening.

Of the new cases, 96 per cent are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.

The clusters at Northpoint City and the dormitory at 133 Tuas View Square have been closed as there have been no more cases for the past two incubation periods, or 28 days.

The MOH added Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre, Tampines Mall and Mustafa Centre as among the list of places visited by Covid-19 patients.

MOH said on Sunday that 327 more cases of Covid-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.

In all, 24,886 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

There are 295 Covid-19 patients who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and three are in critical condition in the intensive care unit, MOH said.

A total of 12,704 are isolated at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for the coronavirus.

Twenty-five have died from complications due to Covid-19 infection.