By Teddy Cambosa

The Ministry of Health in Singapore has reported that the island nation has 30 new COVID-19 cases on January 1st, 3 of which are locally-transmitted and 27 are so-called “import cases”.

Image/CIA

According to the ministry’s press release, the local cases are as follows:

  • Case 58870 is a 14 year-old female Singaporean who is a friend of Case 58843. On 27 December 2020, she visited Case 58843 at her home for a few hours while Case 58810 was present as well. As a result, she was identified as a close contact of Case 58810 on 29 December, and placed on quarantine. She is a student of a local girl school.
  • Case 58872 is a 52 year-old female Singaporean who is a family member of Cases 58817, 58840 and 58841, and household member of Cases 58840 and 58841. She developed symptoms on 28 December and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic the next day. She was advised by the doctor to take a COVID-19 test, but she did not do so. She was also given 5 days’ medical leave, during which she had to remain at home. Her occupation is an analyst for a bank.
  • Case 58874 is a 53 year-old male Japanese who is a Work Pass holder. He arrived in Singapore from Japan on 26 November and was placed on stay at home notice (SHN) at a dedicated facility until 10 December. A pre-departure test he had taken on 24 November was negative for COVID-19 infection, and his test on 6 December during stay at home notice (SHN) came back negative as well.

Meanwhile, the ministry has issued SHNs as well to the 27 import cases, originating from countries like UAE and the Philippines.

Teddy Cambosa is a graduating BS Biology student and a former campus journalist at Batangas State University. He is also currently writing for MARKETECH APAC, a small APAC-focused marketing news site.