The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 40 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 59,197.

There are four locally-transmitted cases and 36 imported cases of Covid-19 infection.

Four community cases

There are four cases in the community, of whom one is currently unlinked and three are linked to previous cases.

Case 59455

Case 59455 is a 27 year-old male Malaysian national who is a Work Pass holder.

He works as a sales personnel at BS Industrial & Construction Supply Pte Ltd (34 Kallang Place). He is a co-worker of Case 59429.

He developed a sore throat on Jan. 14, and loss of smell and taste on Jan. 18 but did not seek medical treatment and continued to go to work.

As he had been identified as a close contact of Case 59429, he was contacted by MOH on Jan. 18 and conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital when he reported these symptoms.

He was tested at the hospital, and his test result came back positive for Covid-19 infection the next day. His serology test result has come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Case 59456

Case 59456 is a 29 year-old female Malaysian national who is a Work Pass holder, and works at BS Industrial & Construction Supply Pte Ltd as a sales personnel.

She is a co-worker of Case 59429. She developed a sore throat and difficulty in breathing on Jan. 16 but did not seek medical treatment and continued to go to work and interact in the community.

On Jan. 18, as she had been identified as a close contact of Case 59429, and she was contacted by MOH. She was conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and tested for Covid-19 when she reported these symptoms.

Her test result came back positive for Covid-19 the next day. Her serology test result has also come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

MOH said it strongly urged everyone to do their part to reduce the risk of transmission. Those who are unwell, including those showing early/ mild symptoms, should be socially responsible and seek medical attention immediately and stay at home to prevent the spread of illness to others.

Case 59474

Case 59474 is a 28 year-old female Malaysian national who is a Work Pass holder. She works as a finance personnel at BS Industrial & Construction Supply Pte Ltd.

She developed a cough on Jan. 19. On the same day, she was placed on quarantine as a close contact of Case 59429, and was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital when she reported her symptom.

She subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 infection, and was warded at NCID on the same day. Her serology test result has also come back negative, indicating that this is likely a current infection.

Investigations are ongoing to assess if there had been any breach of the relevant prevailing safe management measures at their workplace.

The government takes a serious view of any breach and will take actions should there be non-compliance.

Case 59473

Case 59473 is a 46 year-old male Indian national who is a Work Pass holder, and works as a software engineer at APAR Technologies Pte Ltd (4 Shenton Way).

He had travelled to India between Mar. 9 and Oct. 29, 2020, and the UAE between Oct. 29 and Nov. 13. He served SHN at a dedicated facility upon his return to Singapore until Nov. 27, and his swab done on Nov. 23 during SHN was negative for Covid-19.

He is asymptomatic, and was detected when he took a Covid-19 pre-departure test on Jan. 19 in preparation for a trip back to India.

His result came back positive for Covid-19 infection the next day and he was conveyed to NCID. His Ct value is very high, which is indicative of a low viral load, and his serology test result has come back positive. These indicate a likely past infection.

Epidemiological investigations are ongoing.

36 imported cases

There are 36 imported cases, all of whom had been placed on Stay-Home Notice (SHN) or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.

Here’s a breakdown of the cases:

They had all already been placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore and were tested while serving SHN.

32 more cases discharged

32 more cases of Covid-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.

In all, 58,926 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

There are currently 45 confirmed cases who are still in hospital.

Of these, most are stable or improving, and none are in the intensive care unit.

197 are isolated and cared for in community facilities.

29 have passed away from complications due to Covid-19 infection.

17 new locations

MOH regularly updates a list of public places visited by confirmed Covid-19 cases for more than 30 minutes when they were infectious.

17 new locations were added to the list on Jan. 19, including

Here is the full list of locations:

Top photo by Zhangxin Zheng