SINGAPORE - An 84-year-old Singaporean woman has died from complications due to Covid-19 infection, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported on Saturday (June 26).
She was tested for Covid-19 on June 15 as part of MOH's community surveillance testing for visitors to 115 and 116 Bukit Merah View, and was confirmed to have the infection on the same day.
She had not been vaccinated and had a history of cancer and hypertension.
The National Centre for Infectious Diseases has contacted her family and is extending assistance to them, said MOH.
This brings the number of Covid-19 deaths in Singapore to 36.
On Saturday, MOH reported 13 new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infection, all in the community and none in the dormitories.
Five of these cases are linked to previous cases and have already been placed under quarantine. Eight were detected through surveillance, among whom four are linked to previous cases.
Four cases are currently unlinked.
Among the new cases are a 21-year-old nurse and two porters who work at Changi General Hospital. The nurse has been classified as an unlinked case, while the porters, aged 48 and 66, were linked to the cluster at the hospital. There are now five cases in the cluster.
A 43-year-old Indonesian foreign domestic worker was also added to the cluster at Block 105 Henderson Crescent, bringing the total number of cases linked to the cluster to 11.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old police officer also tested positive for Covid-19. She is deployed at the Bukit Merah West Neighbourhood Police Centre at 500 Bukit Merah View, and was last at work on June 22.
A 27-year-old Navy serviceman was among the unlinked cases reported on Saturday. The man, who has received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, developed a fever on June 24 and tested positive the next day.
The serviceman last visited Tuas Naval Base on June 24. The Singapore Armed Forces said it has disinfected the premises, and that all personnel who were identified as close contacts have been tested for Covid-19 and are under quarantine.
Overall, MOH said the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from 109 cases in the week before to 92 cases in the past week.
But the number of unlinked cases in the community has increased, from 13 cases in the week before to 19 cases in the past week.
There were also four imported cases reported on Saturday, who were already placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore.
Another 20 patients have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.
There are currently 143 patients who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and four are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Another 170 are isolated and cared for at community facilities.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
