• Singapore reported 16 new Covid-19 cases on June 18, 14 of which were in the community
• Of the 14, nine were linked to the Bukit Merah View market cluster
• The cluster now has 65 cases in total
• There were two imported cases and no new cases in migrant worker dormitories
• The number of new cases in the community has shot up from 36 in the week before to 104 in the past week

SINGAPORE — Three retirees, including a resident at a seniors home in Bukit Merah View, were among the four Covid-19 community cases with no known sources of infection reported on Friday (June 18).

In its nightly update on the coronavirus situation here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the resident at the NTUC Health Senior Group Home at Bukit Merah View is a 69-year-old China national.

He was tested for Covid-19 on Wednesday as part of the home’s surveillance testing for residents.

The other two retirees are a 67-year-old Singaporean man as well as an 83-year-old Singaporean woman.

The fourth unlinked community case is a 51-year-old Singaporean homemaker. She did not have any symptoms and was detected when she visited a general practitioner’s clinic for an unrelated medical condition on Tuesday.

MOH said that the woman was tested for the coronavirus because she lives in the Bukit Merah View area.

Besides the four unlinked cases, there were 10 other infections in the community that have been linked to past cases.

Of these, nine have been linked to the cluster at Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre. There are now 65 confirmed cases in the cluster.

Rounding up the total of 16 new infections reported for the day were two imported cases. Both Singaporeans who returned from Indonesia were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon their arrival here.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has shot up from 36 in the week before to 104 in the past week.

The number of cases with no known links in the community has also gone up from nine in the week before to 19 in the past week.

MOH also said that the following clusters have been closed because no more cases had surfaced for the past two incubation periods:

• Changi Airport Terminal 3

• One linked to a 46-year-old Singaporean woman who is an investment banker at DBS at Marina Bay Financial Tower 3

• Another linked to a 49-year-old female permanent resident who is a homemaker

NEW CASES IN BUKIT MERAH VIEW MARKET CLUSTER

• A four-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy who are both Singaporean preschoolers at the PCF Sparkletots Preschool located at 78A Telok Blangah Street 32. They both last went to school on May 21

• A 39-year-old Singaporean man who works as a logistics officer at industrial equipment supplier CKD Singapore

• A 69-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree

• An 83-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree and lives in the Bukit Merah View area

• A 35-year-old female China national who works as a cashier at Bake King — a baking supply store on Haig Road

• A 72-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree and frequently visited 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre

• A 64-year-old Singaporean man who is employed by KAL Transport as a school bus driver for Tanglin Trust School. MOH said that the man lives in the Bukit Merah area and frequently visited the food establishments in the area

• A 42-year-old Myanmar national who is a foreign domestic worker and had visited the Bukit Merah View market and hawker centre

CLUSTER LINKED TO LANDSCAPE GARDENER AT AMOZONIA

A 59-year-old Singaporean woman who is a retiree has been linked to a 68-year-old man who works as a landscape gardener at landscaping firm Amozonia. The man was confirmed to have Covid-19 on June 12.

UPDATE ON REMAINING CASES

The total number of infections in Singapore is now 62,382.

Of these, 61,987 people have fully recovered and been discharged, including 27 on Friday.

There are still 152 patients in hospitals. Of these, most are stable or improving, and one is in critical condition under intensive care.

Another 209 patients are isolated at community facilities. They have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still tested positive for Covid-19.

Thirty-four people have died from complications due to the disease.