Singapore has recorded 9 COVID-19 cases in the community in the last week

There have been a few relaxations in COVID-19 safety measures, but the pandemic is still not over.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the community has increased in the past week, announced the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (Apr 21). 

There were nine community cases last week (Apr 15 to 21), a sharp increase from only two community cases in the week before (Apr 8 to Apr 14). 

The number of unlinked community cases has also increased, from one case in the week before to five cases last week. 

Yesterday, 11 migrant workers living in Westlite Woodlands dormitory also tested positive for COVID-19. The workers were not included in MOH’s case count for Wednesday.

One of the cases, a 35-year-old Bangladeshi worker, was already fully vaccinated, but he had likely been infected with COVID-19 before he could build up immunity to the virus.

The only community case yesterday was a 39-year-old male Permanent Resident, who had previously tested negative for COVID-19 on Feb 6. As he is asymptomatic, he was only detected for COVID-19 when he took a pre-departure COVID-19 test on Apr 19. 

“He could be shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA from a past infection which are no longer transmissible and infective to others, but given that we are not able to definitively conclude when he had been infected, we will take all the necessary public health actions as a precautionary measure,” MOH wrote.

While more Singaporeans have been vaccinated, our fight with COVID-19 is not over yet. 

With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing in recent weeks, we should remember to stay vigilant and keep our loved ones safe by practising social distancing and wearing our masks.