218 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, including 2 in the community

SINGAPORE - There are 218 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Saturday noon (June 20), taking Singapore's total to 41,833.

They include two community cases, both work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday.

Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the vast majority of the other cases on Saturday, said MOH.

More details will be announced on Saturday night.

On Friday, MOH reported two new clusters of Covid-19, both of which were dormitory clusters.

One cluster at 10 Kaki Bukit Road 1 is linked to six cases. The second is at 6 Kian Teck Crescent and is linked to three cases.

The only coronavirus community case reported on Friday was a 21-year-old prison inmate from Sri Lanka at Changi Prison Complex.

MOH said the man was on a social visit pass and had been segregated from the general inmate population since his admission to Changi prison on June 6 and tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.

The average number of new daily Covid-19 patients in the community has continued to come down from nine cases two weeks ago to four in the past week.

The average number of unlinked community cases per day too has fallen from four to two over the same period.

As of Friday, 33,449 patients have fully recovered from the disease. A total of 212 patients remain in the hospital, including two in the intensive care unit, while 7,918 are recuperating in community facilities.

Singapore has had 26 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 10 who tested positive have died of other causes.

The Republic eased restrictions and began phase two of its reopening on Friday, allowing more business and social activities to resume.

Households are allowed to receive up to five visitors at any one time and people can get together socially in groups of up to five. Individuals must still maintain a safe distance of at least 1m from others. When this is not feasible, groups of no more than five people should be at least 1m apart with no mixing between groups.

Karaoke outlets, bars, nightclubs, cinemas, theatres as well as libraries, museums and other large cultural and entertainment venues will not be allowed to resume yet.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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