Morning brief: Covid-19 update for April 19, 2020

Singapore – A total of 942 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Saturday (April 18), a record number on a daily basis, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). Singapore now has a total of 5,992 cases.

Of the 942 new cases, 893 belong to work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. Another 27 belong to the same status but live outside dormitories.

Out of the remaining cases, 22 come from the local community, 14 of which are Singaporeans and permanent residents, one with a dependent’s pass, one with a long-term visit pass and six with a work pass.

According to MOH, there has been a decrease in new cases within the community, which had an average of 40 new cases per day to an average of 31 per day last week. On the other hand, there has been an increase in the number of unlinked cases in the community, from an average of 19 cases per day to 22 per day in the past week.

Below graph shows the clusters not linked to dormitories.

In the latest MOH update, three new clusters were identified: Homestay Lodge (39 Kaki Bukit Avenue 3), TTJ Design & Engineering Pte Ltd (57 Pioneer Road), and CDPL Tuas Dormitory (6 Tuas South Street 15).

Of the cases linked to dormitories, the S11 Dormitory at Punggol remains the largest with 979 confirmed cases to date.

No imported cases were reported on Saturday while the total of recovered patients went up to 740. Twenty-three patients remain in critical condition.

Meanwhile, 13 dormitories have been declared isolation areas, wherein workers are not allowed to leave their rooms for 14 days as an added safety precaution. /TISG