99% Of Covid-19 Cases On 13 May Linked To Existing Clusters, Hints At CB Effectiveness

Unlinked Covid-19 Cases Drop Drastically On 13 May, With Record High Number Of Patients Discharged

You may be tired of whining about being stuck at home for over a month now, but you should be happy to know that your efforts may not have been for naught.

In an update yesterday (13 May), the Ministry of Health (MOH) shared some good news — that Singapore recorded the highest number of patients discharged in a day, and unlinked Covid-19 cases have decreased significantly.

Though they didn’t explicitly identify a particular reason why, we’re sure the ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB) period played a major role.

Almost all new Covid-19 cases have links to existing clusters

MOH revealed that 99% of the 675 new cases have links to existing clusters, while the rest await contact tracing.

This amount is a significant improvement from just a month ago, when we reported 3-figure unlinked case numbers.

On 14 Apr for example, 114 out of 334, or 34% of new Covid-19 cases pended contact tracing. This was only a week into CB.

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Since then, the numbers have fallen considerably, to now only single digits. This pattern seems to have been consistent since 30 Apr, which was only 2 weeks ago.

There are currently 89 active clusters, majority of which are at dormitories or work sites.

MOH being able to link nearly all new cases to infection clusters is a likely sign that contact tracing has grown more effective and efficient since CB commenced. With most residents staying indoors, the risk of hard-to-trace cases cropping up is much lower.

Highest number of patients discharged in a day

Not for the first time but perhaps quite notably, discharge cases far outnumbered new daily infections.

958 patients successfully recovered and left hospital on 13 May, making it the highest daily record for that demographic yet.

The number of recoveries have been promising lately, as Singapore records daily figures in the hundreds for the sixth consecutive day.

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While factors such as milder infections may have determined their discharge, we also have our healthcare workers to thank for providing the best care.

Appreciation goes out to everyone else who has been complying with safety measures all this while too. Your cooperation certainly plays a big part in keeping everyone safe.

Hope this is an optimistic sign of improvements to come

We may not be able to infer much from numbers alone, but we have hope yet that things will be improving soon.

Authorities are stepping up medical attention for migrant workers, of whom 20,000 are expected to recover by end of this month.

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If these statistics prove true, we may be looking forward to an overall fall in cases in the weeks to come.

Till then, let’s continue complying with CB measures, for the sake of ourselves and the people around us.

Featured image adapted from Facebook.