59 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including 19 unlinked

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 59 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections as of noon on Thursday (Aug 12), including 19 with no links to previous cases.

Twenty-six infections were linked to previous cases and had been placed on quarantine. Another 14 linked infections were detected through surveillance testing, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its preliminary daily update.

Among the new cases, five are people above the age of 70 who were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. They are at risk of serious illness, said MOH.

There were no new imported cases for the first time since Jun 15.

MOH will release further updates on the COVID-19 situation in Singapore on Thursday night.

Dining-in at restaurants resumed this week for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with businesses putting in place measures to verify customers' vaccination status. 

Those who pass off another person's vaccination certificate as their own will face "severe penalty", warned Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday night. 

"We are aware such illegal practices are going on," he said in a Facebook post. "The authorities will enforce against this, and offenders will face severe penalty. It is not worth it."

Mr Ong reminded people who are not fully vaccinated to take a pre-event swab test at an approved test provider if they wish to dine-in at F&B outlets or attend an event.

As of Thursday, Singapore has reported a total of 66,012 COVID-19 cases.