Record 1,426 New Covid-19 Cases On 20 Apr Brings S’pore Tally Past 8,000 With 3 New Clusters

Covid-19 Cases Involving S’poreans & PRs Were Only 1.26% Of Total Tally

As we approach the midway mark of the ‘Circuit Breaker’, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced a record 1,426 new cases on Monday (20 Apr) afternoon. This brings the national tally to 8,014.

Not much information was announced then, other than the fact that the majority of patients comprised Work Permit holders living in dormitories.

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MOH released more information about these cases close to midnight. Here’s a breakdown.

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1,369 of 1,426 cases are Work Permit holders living in dormitories

Of the 1,426 cases, 1,369 involve Work Permit holders living in dormitories, accounting for around 96% of today’s cases.

63% of these cases – or around 862 of them – are linked to known clusters. MOH is conducting contact tracing for the remaining cases.

MOH says this is the result of “extensive testing” adding that the cases are not “new ” as many of the dormitory residents have been staying in their room.

As stated earlier, many of these patients are young and are only suffering from mild symptoms. None of them is warded in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Just 1.26% of new cases are Singaporeans or PRs

25 community cases were also announced today, down from the 30 reported yesterday (19 Apr).

18 of these involve Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, a 28% decrease from 25 the previous day. This amounts to just 1.26% of today’s new cases.

Earlier today, MOH reported 16 local cases. Subsequent contact tracing revealed another 2 patients who fall under this category.

7 Work Pass holders have also tested positive for Covid-19.

MOH added that the number of unlinked community cases has been “relatively constant”, with around 20 cases per day over the past fortnight.

Separately, 32 Work Permit holders staying outside dormitories were also part of the new cases today.

This might be another area of concern, given that it has increased over the past 2 weeks.

3 new clusters identified

3 new clusters have also been identified, of which 2 are dormitories:

• Jurong Apartments dormitory (555 Upper Jurong Road)
• Woodlands Lodge II dormitory (190 Woodlands Industrial Park E7)
• 8 Sungei Kadut Loop

The cluster at S11 Dormitory @ Punggol remains the largest, with 1,977 cases linked to it.,

On a larger scale, active clusters have been found in 27 of the 43 large purpose-built dormitories. These clusters have also been reported in other factory converted dormitories, which are smaller in size.

33 more patients discharged

In more positive news, 33 additional patients have fully recovered from the infection. In total, 801 cases have been discharged from hospital to date.

23 remain in the ICU, up from the 22 reported yesterday.

Hope this is but a temporary spike

With the staggering number of Coivd-19 cases reported today, many Singaporeans would understandably feel anxious.

Let’s hope this is but a temporary spike which came as a result of “extensive testing” in workers’ dormitories, as said by MOH.

For the rest of us, let’s adhere to the social distancing measures and minimise heading out for the time being. Should the need arises, always wear a mask and maintain a safe distance from none another.

Featured image adapted from Facebook.