Dormitory resident among 2 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported two new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections as of noon on Tuesday (Jul 6), both of which were currently unlinked. 

One of the locally transmitted cases resides in a dormitory, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). 

This is the first dormitory COVID-19 case since Jun 14. 

MOH did not provide further details on the location of the dormitory in its evening update.

There were also eight imported cases, all of which were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival.

Seven of these infections were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while one developed the illness during stay-home notice or isolation.

In total, Singapore reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

2 MORE CLUSTERS CLOSED

The Health Ministry also announced the closure of two clusters as there have been no more cases linked to them for the past two incubation periods.

They are the Atatcutz Singapore cluster and a cluster linked to Case 63964, a 61-year-old Singaporean woman who works at NTUC FairPrice supermarket along Clementi Avenue 3. 

The earliest case in the Atatcutz Singapore cluster, was a 26-year-old Malaysian man who works as a delivery rider for Pizza Hut at Hougang Green. 

His close contact, a 24-year-old Malaysian who works as a barber at Atatcutz Singapore, later tested positive for COVID-19.

A technical officer at Singapore Power who worked as a part-time barber at the store as well as a manager at Prudential Services Singapore were among the other infections in the cluster which grew to a total of eight cases.

The cluster linked to the NTUC FairPrice supermarket worker, Case 63964, had a total of six infections. 

Among the cases linked to the cluster were a 23-year-old Singaporean student at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, a 30-year-old Indonesian foreign domestic worker and a 51-year-old Singaporean who works as a private hire driver.

22 ACTIVE CLUSTERS IN SINGAPORE

There are currently 22 active clusters in Singapore, ranging between three and 93 infections. The 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre cluster remains the largest active cluster in the country.

MOH said the number of new cases in the community has decreased from 76 cases in the week before to 24 cases in the past week. 

The number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased from 11 cases in the week before to five cases in the past week. 

​​​​​​​

The ministry said that 99 cases are currently warded in hospital. Most are well and under observation. 

There are currently eight cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and three in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).

"There is continuing evidence that vaccination helps to prevent serious disease when one gets infected. Over the last 28 days, 23 local cases required oxygen supplementation, were admitted to ICU or passed away. 

"20 are unvaccinated, three are partially vaccinated and none was fully vaccinated," said MOH. 

READ: Swimming, cycling and PE should be avoided after COVID-19 vaccination jabs: MOH

"VERY HIGH LEVEL" OF VACCINATION COVERAGE IN NEXT 1 TO 2 MONTHS

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in a ministerial statement on Monday that reopening Singapore's borders is vital to the country's economic recovery, but doing so prematurely could result in another wave of COVID-19 infections.

The priority, therefore, is to speed up vaccinations, he said, adding that Singapore should be able to reach a "very high level of vaccination coverage" in the next one to two months.

He also said that small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) will continue to receive help to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic as part of additional support measures expected to cost S$1.2 billion.

The support measures are meant for the period of “heightened alert” since mid-May, when restrictions were tightened as COVID-19 community cases rose. 

READ: 'Broad-ranging' review of COVID-19 response more appropriate than Commission of Inquiry: Teo Chee Hean to Pritam Singh

TEEN SUFFERS CARDIAC ARREST A WEEK AFTER JAB; MOH INVESTIGATING

The Health Ministry said on Monday it is investigating a case of a 16-year-old boy who suffered a cardiac arrest almost a week after receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The boy collapsed at home on the morning of Jul 3 after a weightlifting session at the gym. He was later transferred to National University Hospital (NUH), and is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

As of Tuesday, Singapore has reported a total of 62,640 COVID-19 cases and 36 fatalities from the disease.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram