SINGAPORE, 8 April 2020:
Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has verified 142 new cases of Covid-19 infection, bringing the tally for the republic to 1,623 cases.
Of the new cases, 40 cases were linked to clusters at foreign worker dormitories, 28 were linked to non-dormitory clusters or other cases and 72 were so far not linked while two imported cases were also reported, said MoH in a statement here.
As of today, the three clusters which were gazetted as isolation areas were S11 Dormitory @ Punggol, Westlite Toh Guan Dormitory and Toh Guan Dormitory, which have a combined 179 positive cases.
Meanwhile, two Malaysian men, aged 30 and 40, who are part of 72 local unlinked cases, are currently warded at Singapore General Hospital and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), respectively.
As for cases from public healthcare sector, MoH said there was one reported involving a 31-year-old technician at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
Updating on the condition of confirmed cases, the ministry said 29 patients of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing the total of fully recovered to 406.
Of the 669 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving while 29 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
To date, the republic has recorded six deaths from complications due to Covid-19 infection.
According to MoH, a 32-year-old Indian national who was labelled as Case 1,604, has passed away at his residence on April 8.
Earlier, MoH said the long-term pass holder had been swabbed at NCID for Covid-19 on April 7 and was advised to stay at home, pending the test result.
His chest X-ray indicated he did not have pneumonia and was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection after his demise. “Investigations are ongoing to establish the cause of death.”
Thailand has confirmed 111 new Covid-19 cases, including 42 Thais who returned from Indonesia, and three more deaths, bringing the cumulative total to 2,369 cases and 30 fatalities.
The 42 people were among 76 Thais who returned home from Indonesia on Monday after a religious gathering there was cancelled at the eleventh hour.
Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesperson Thaweesilp Wissanuyothin said the three fatalities reported are all foreign nationals – a 48-year-old Russian, a 69-year-old Indian and a 69-year-old US citizen.
“Of 2,369 patients, 888 have recovered and returned home,” he said at the daily Covid-19 briefing here today.
Meanwhile, Thaweesilp said Thailand had conducted 81,860 Covid-19 tests since the outbreak.
“At present, there are 80 Covid-19 laboratories in the country and the current capacity for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test is 20,000 nationwide per day,” he said adding that there are plans to increase the number of laboratories to 110.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesperson Natapanu Nopakun said prime minister general Prayuth Chan o-cha reaffirmed that controlling the Covid-19 outbreak is a national agenda that required national unity and contribution from all sectors.
“In this regard, remedial measures and assistance for those affected by the situation are being provided,”
Meanwhile, Pattaya will be on lockdown from 2 pm (local time) today for 21 days in an effort to curb the Covid-19 outbreak, as cases continue to rise in the resort city.
At least five checkpoints will be set up to enforce the lockdown and residents are also required to wear face masks when outdoors.
More than 450,000 people in Indonesia have so far undergone rapid tests for early detection of Covid-19 virus infection.
Achmad Yurianto, spokesman for the Covid-19 Task Force, said it was in line with president Joko Widodo’s directive on March 20 that he wanted rapid mass testing to be carried out, through blood sample examination.
He said the previous focus was on rapid tests because the cost was not very expensive, but the Indonesian government is also conducting Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests which so far had involved 15,000 people.
In his daily press conference today, Achmad Yurianto said there were 218 new positive cases within 24 hours, bringing the total to 2,956.
Between noon yesterday and noon today, another 19 deaths occurred, bringing the total to 240.
– Bernama