Singapore reports 24 new COVID-19 cases, all imported

SINGAPORE: Twenty-four new COVID-19 cases were reported in Singapore as of noon on Monday (Jan 4), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its preliminary daily update.

All the cases were imported and placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon their arrival in Singapore, said the ministry.

Among the new cases is a Singaporean and 15 foreign domestic workers. 

No new cases were found in the community and in foreign workers' dormitories.

Details of the new cases will be released on Monday night, MOH said. 

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COVID-19 VACCINATION BOOKINGS WILL ENSURE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY 

Bookings will be required when COVID-19 vaccination begins for Singapore residents, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Parliament on Monday.

The prior bookings are necessary given the cold-chain requirements at the vaccination sites and multi-dose vials of the vaccines. It will also ensure operational efficiency and minimise individual wait times, said Mr Gan, adding that more information on steps to make the booking will be provided later. 

The vaccine is free for all Singaporeans and long-term residents, including long-term work permit holders.

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Mr Gan added that a national effort to vaccinate the Singapore population will need “considerable resources” to implement and will be one of the Government’s key focus areas in 2021. 

In his ministerial statement in Parliament, Mr Gan said the last time Singapore conducted a vaccination exercise of this scale was in 1959, in response to a smallpox outbreak. Slightly more than 1 million people were vaccinated then.

“The scale of the current effort is larger, but we are also much better prepared. We started planning for this very early on,” said Mr Gan.

As of Monday, Singapore has reported a total of 58,721 COVID-19 cases and 29 fatalities from the disease. 

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