22 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, all imported

SINGAPORE: There were 22 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of noon on Thursday (Feb 4), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its preliminary daily update.

All the new cases were imported and had been placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

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

SINGAPORE AUTHORISES SECOND COVID-19 VACCINE

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has granted interim authorisation for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to be used in Singapore for people aged 18 years and above.

"HSA's review of the available clinical data found that the benefits of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the known risks," the authority said on Wednesday.

"The vaccine demonstrated a high vaccine efficacy of 94 per cent."

The first shipment is expected to arrive around March, said MOH.

Moderna's vaccine is the second COVID-19 vaccine to be authorised for use in Singapore, after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

READ: 34 Chinatown visitors fined for not wearing masks, gathering in groups of more than 8

ADDITIONAL TESTING MEASURES FOR NEWLY ARRIVED FOREIGN WORKERS

MOM on Wednesday also announced the extension of the post-stay-home notice seven-day testing programme to newly arrived work permit and S Pass workers in the construction, marine and process sectors from higher-risk countries and regions.

Previously, only those headed to dormitories would be subject to the additional tests.

The ministry said these additional measures are necessary to “to further reduce the risk of transmission from newly arrived migrant workers into the workplace”.

As of Thursday, Singapore has reported a total of 59,624 COVID-19 cases.

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