226 New Covid-19 Cases In Singapore Today (3 Aug) Including 1 Prison Inmate


Advertisements
 

On 3 Aug, the Ministry of Health (MOH) preliminarily reported 226 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore.

This brings the total number of cases here to 53,051.

The figure includes 9 imported cases who were placed on mandatory 14-day Stay-Home-Notice upon arrival in Singapore.

There is also one community case, a prison inmate on a short-term visit pass who arrived in Singapore before borders closed.

As per the Singapore Prison Service’s (SPS) usual Covid-19 measures, the inmate was segregated from the rest of the prison populace since he went in on 30 Jul 2020.

He was detected when the SPS conducted their proactive screening of newly-admitted inmates before letting them into the wider community.

Foreign workers residing in dormitories make up a vast majority of the cases reported yesterday.

Yesterday’s (2 Aug) Community Cases

On 2 Aug, 5 imported cases and 1 case in the community was reported.

Imported cases:

  • Cases 52858 and 52878 are work pass holders who arrived in India on 19 Jul and 21 Jul 2020.
  • Cases 52857 and 52859 are Dependant’s Pass holders who arrived from Japan and India from 21 Jul 2020.
  • Case 52838 is a student pass holder who came to Singapore from Indonesia on 19 Jul 2020.

All of them were placed on 14-day Stay-Home-Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore and were serving it at dedicated facilities.

They were detected during their stay there.

Case in the community:

The case in the community reported on 2 Aug is a Singapore PR. Case 52875 is a family member of a previously confirmed imported case (Case 52049) who recently travelled to India.

Because the previously confirmed case is a minor at 13 years old, Case 52875 requested, and was granted, permission to stay with him at the dedicated SHN facility.

She developed symptoms during isolation and was tested positive after.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased from an average of 7 cases per day (the week before) to an average of 2 cases per day (over the past week).


Advertisements
 

The number of unlinked cases has dropped as well, from an average of 4 cases per day (the week before) to an average of 1 per day (over the past week).

Travellers On SHN Who Stays Outside Dedicated Facilities To Wear Tracking Devices

If you look at the trend, the number of community cases has fallen while the number of imported cases has spiked.

So much so that some have started calling it the “Third Wave of Imported Covid-19 Cases“.

And because quarantine is such an effective tactic at keeping Covid-19 at bay, the government is now going one step further to ensure that travellers obey the 14-day SHN.


Advertisements
 

From 10 Aug 2020 onwards, travellers who enter Singapore and serve their mandatory Stay-Home-Notice (SHN) outside dedicated facilities will be equipped with this device.

They include citizens, PRs, long-term pass holders, work pass holders, their dependants and dogs.

Okay, I’m kidding, their dogs don’t have to be tagged, along with children who are 12 years old and below.

Travellers who are eligible have to wear it on them at all times during their 14-day SHN.

The eligible travellers will have to wear the device, which will be issued at the checkpoints, throughout their 14-day stay.

Once they reached their place of residence, they’ll have to turn it on.


Advertisements
 

The moment it’s on, the device will use a combination of Bluetooth and 4G network to determine if the person wearing it is at their place of residence.

Also, don’t think you can be like the Bak Kut Teh lover and turn it on at home after you’ve gone out for one last hurrah.

The authorities will be keeping an eye on you and if you didn’t turn it on at the expected timing, they’ll contact you to find out why.

Should the wearers:

  • attempt to tamper with the device
  • not reply immediately after it notifies them about something
  • try to leave the house
  • try and remove the device

The authorities will know.


Advertisements
 

And when they know, offenders can be jailed for up to 6 months, fined up to $10,000, or both.

For foreigners, ICA and MOM can also choose to revoke or shorten their passes.

According to the Straits Times report, the device can be deactivated and thrown away, or returned according to the instructions given by the relevant agencies.

You can find out more here.