SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 182 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections as of noon on Tuesday (Jul 20), with 142 cases linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster.
This makes it the largest active cluster in Singapore, with 321 cases in all, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its nightly update.
Fourteen more infections have been traced to the KTV cluster, taking the total number of cases in the cluster to 207.
Among the new cases announced on Tuesday, 156 are linked to previous infections, with 81 already placed on quarantine and 75 detected through surveillance testing.
The remaining 26 infections are not linked to previous cases, said MOH.
Two of the new cases are seniors above 70 years old who were not vaccinated and are at risk of serious illness, the ministry added.
There were also 13 imported infections, who were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival. Six cases were detected upon arrival in Singapore, while seven developed the illness during the stay-home notice or isolation period.
In total, Singapore reported 195 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
This is the highest daily tally since Jul 10 last year when 191 infections were detected.
2 MORE MARKETS CLOSED
Haig Road Market & Food Centre and Chong Pang Market will be closed to all members of the public for two weeks, from Jul 21 to Aug 4, after 35 COVID-19 cases were detected.
Twenty-five of them were detected among people who worked in or visited Haig Road Market & Food Centre, while 10 cases were linked to Chong Pang Market.
The infections were uncovered as part of the Health Ministry’s investigations into cases involving markets and food centres which are likely seeded by fishmongers who visited Jurong Fishery Port.
MOH also announced that free COVID-19 testing will be extended to people who had visited Chong Boon Market & Food Centre between Jul 3 and 17.
It previously announced that the market in Ang Mo Kio will close from Jul 18 to Aug 1.
Those who work in the market and food centre had earlier been quarantined and tested.
As of Tuesday, Chong Boon Market & Food Centre, Chong Pang Market, Haig Road Market & Food Centre and Hong Lim Market & Food Centre have been listed as clusters that are linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster.
Markets with three or more cases that are linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster are Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre, 726 West Coast Wet Market and Whampoa Wet Market.
There are a total of 28 markets or food centres with fewer than three cases linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster. Among them are Amoy Street Food Centre, Geylang Bahru Market and Tekka Centre.
“We also advise all visitors to markets and food centres to avoid crowds and to do your marketing during off-peak hours, or at supermarkets, and to strictly observe the safe management measures,” said MOH.
KTV CLUSTER
MOH added that epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission at Club MX located at 401 MacPherson Road.
All visitors to the affected premises are advised to monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as far as possible.
2 MORE CLUSTERS CLOSED
There are currently 26 active clusters in Singapore, ranging between three and 321 infections.
As there have been no more cases linked to the Case 64233 and 90 Redhill Close clusters for the past two incubation periods, the clusters have now been closed, said MOH.
MOH said the number of new cases in the community has increased from 37 cases in the week before to 643 cases in the past week.
“We are likely to see rising cases in the coming days as we step up efforts to detect them to contain their spread in the community. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from 10 cases in the week before to 68 cases in the past week,” it added.
There are currently 332 cases in hospital, with most well and under observation.
There are five cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation, and one in critical condition in the intensive care unit. None of them is fully vaccinated.
“There is continuing evidence that vaccination helps to prevent serious disease when one gets infected. Over the last 28 days, 10 local cases required oxygen supplementation, were admitted to ICU or passed away. Seven are unvaccinated, three are partially vaccinated and none was fully vaccinated,” said the Health Ministry.
To stem the spread of the coronavirus, Singapore will return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from Jul 22 until Aug 18.
Dining-in will be suspended during this period and group sizes for social gatherings will go back down to two people.
There will also be a cap of two distinct visitors per household per day.
Similar to the previous period of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from May 16 to Jun 13, grandchildren being cared for daily by their grandparents will not count towards the cap on the number of visitors or social gatherings.
The Government will review the measures in two weeks.
As of Tuesday, Singapore has reported a total of 63,440 COVID-19 cases.
