5 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, all imported; 11th consecutive day of no local infections

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported five new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (Nov 21), all imported, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

Four of the new cases were asymptomatic. They were placed on stay-home notice upon arrival, said MOH. No locally transmitted infections were reported for the 11th consecutive day.

Among the five cases, one is a Singaporean who returned from Mexico, while another is a permanent resident who arrived from the UK.

Two of the imported cases are work permit holders currently employed in Singapore who arrived from the Philippines. The remaining case is a long-term visit pass holder who arrived from Oman. 

They were tested while serving their stay-home notice.

SIX MORE DISCHARGED

Six more COVID-19 cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 58,064 people have fully recovered from the infection.

There are 22 COVID-19 patients who are still in hospital. Most are stable or improving, and one is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit, said MOH.

Thirty-four cases are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are people who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.

Singapore's death toll from complications due to COVID-19 remains at 28.

As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 58,148 COVID-19 cases.

READ: Singapore-Hong Kong air travel bubble launch deferred for 2 weeks after COVID-19 cases spike in Hong Kong

SINGAPORE-HONG KONG AIR TRAVEL BUBBLE LAUNCH DEFERRED

The launch of an air travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong has been deferred for two weeks, Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung announced on Saturday.

This comes after a surge of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong. The air travel bubble was supposed to launch on Sunday.

READ: SIA, Cathay customers who no longer wish to fly after Singapore-Hong Kong air travel bubble deferment can request for full refunds

In a Facebook post, Mr Ong said he has held discussions with Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau about the travel bubble.

"Given the evolving situation in Hong Kong, (Mr) Yau and I discussed further this afternoon and decided that it would be better to defer the launch of the air travel bubble by two weeks," Mr Ong said.

"We will review within two weeks on the new launch date and update again.

"I can fully understand the disappointment and frustration of travellers who have planned their trips. But we think it is better to defer from a public health standpoint."

Hong Kong reported 43 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, of which 36 were locally transmitted. Thirteen of the cases were from unknown transmission sources.

Under the terms of the travel bubble, the arrangement would be suspended if the seven-day moving average of unlinked cases exceeds five per day in either city.​​​​​​​

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