Daily brief: Covid-19 update for May 24, 2020, increase in new cases within the community

Singapore – A total of 642 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Saturday (May 23), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in their latest update. Singapore now has a total of 31,068 cases with 23 reported deaths.

Of the 642 new cases, 631 belong to work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories.

Out of the remaining cases, 11 come from the local community; six of which are Singaporeans and permanent residents, three with work permits while another two possess work passes.

According to the MOH, there has been an increase in new cases within the community, which had an average of five new cases per day to an average of seven per day last week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased, from an average of one case per day to two cases per day in the past week.

Local clusters

In the latest MOH update, two new clusters were identified: 28 Kian Teck Road (five cases) and 121 Tuas View Walk 1 (15 cases).

Clusters linked to dormitories

There is a continued increase of cases among Work Permit holders residing in dormitories, including factory-converted dormitories due to the extensive testing being conducted, said the MOH.

Of the cases linked to dormitories, the S11 Dormitory at Punggol remains the largest with 2,591 confirmed cases to date.

No imported cases were reported on Saturday while the total of recovered patients went up to 13,882 as 927 have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. Eight patients remain in critical condition. /TISG