MOH Clarifies Case 6051 Typo In Covid-19 Report, Says To Exclude Them From 18 Apr Figures

MOH’s Clarifies Typo Which Included 5 Patients Whose Case Numbers Were Above 5,992

On Saturday (18 Apr), Singapore reported a record-breaking 942 new cases of Covid-19, bringing our national tally to 5,992.

893 Of 942 Covid-19 Cases Reported On 18 Apr Stay In Dormitories

As details of the new cases emerged at night, some keen-eyed netizens spotted some ominous typos within Ministry of Health (MOH)’s press release.

According to a screenshot by Facebook page Wake Up, Singapore, case numbers above 5,992 were included in the report.

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Facebook page urges MOH to clarify typo

In the screenshot, case numbers of up to 6,051 were included in the new cases linked to Tuas View Dormitory. We’ve highlighted the 5 cases in red below.

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This is 59 higher than the 5,992 total cases reported. If true, the number of new daily cases yesterday (19 Apr) would have been 1,001.

Folks from Wake Up, Singapore urged MOH to “shed light” and reconcile the difference in figures.

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MOH clarifies additional cases were verified after 12pm on 18 Apr

And that’s exactly what MOH did.

Sometime between 1.13am and 12pm on Sunday (19 Apr), MOH made several amendments so its report reflected the accurate figures.

For starters, cases 6042, 6043, 6046, 6048, and 6051 were omitted from the new cases linked to Tuas View Dormitory.

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Footnote xxvi, which mentions the number of additional cases linked to the cluster has also been reduced from 100 to 95.

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MOH has since included a note on its website clarifying that the case numbers above 5992 were  “verified after 12pm, 18 April” and has been removed in the updated press release.

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You can look at the MOH’s revised report here, and the clarification at the bottom of this page.

MOH staff are still doing a great job despite typo

While the typo might cause unnecessary anxiety for Singaporeans, we’re glad that MOH has since provided a clarification to address the concerns.

That said, let’s also spare a thought for the MOH staff working behind the scenes to provide Covid-19 updates every day.

Sorting through the details of nearly 1,000 patients within a span of 24 hours is no easy task, and this small blunder does not change the fact that they’ve been doing a superb job providing Singaporeans with the necessary information on a daily basis.

After all, they are also human and it’s only natural for them to make mistakes from time to time.

Featured image adapted from Facebook and MOH.