SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 13 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Saturday (Dec 5), including one in the community who was already under quarantine.
Twelve cases were imported infections, of which 11 were placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). CopyAMP code
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The remaining imported case is a 53-year-old Singaporean who travelled to Indonesia under the Business Travel Pass. He took a COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test upon return to Singapore on Nov 28 and self-isolated while waiting for his test result.
The test came back negative on Nov 29 but he developed symptoms on Dec 2 and sought treatment at a general practitioner clinic.
He was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on Dec 4.
Before he was hospitalised, he went to work at ASL Shipyard at 19 Pandan Road but did not have any interactions with his colleagues, said MOH.
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“His serological test has come back negative, which indicates a likely current infection,” the ministry said, adding that all his identified close contacts have been isolated and placed on quarantine.
2 CHILDREN AMONG IMPORTED CASES
The other imported cases include two children – a one-year-old Singaporean girl who returned from the United States and another girl of the same age who travelled from Nepal under a dependant’s pass. Both are contacts of previous cases.
Four imported cases were Singapore permanent residents who returned from the United States, India and Indonesia. Advertisement
There were also four work permit holders who travelled from Indonesia and the Philippines.
The remaining imported case is a short-term visit pass holder who arrived from Indonesia to visit her relatives who are Singaporeans. The 41-year-old woman is a contact of a previous case.
COMMUNITY CASE
The sole community case reported on Saturday is a Filipino sea crew who arrived from the Philippines on a vessel that docked at Tuas Port on Nov 18.
The 57-year-old man was already under quarantine as he was identified as a close contact of Case 58357 who is also a crew member of the same ship.
Before boarding the ship for Singapore, the latest case took a COVID-19 test which came back negative.
He and the other 17 crew members were tested again on Nov 19 after arriving in Singapore, said MOH, adding that all tested negative except Case 58357.
The latest case involving the 57-year-old man was swabbed during quarantine at a government facility. “His serological test has come back positive,” said MOH.
As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 58,255 COVID-19 cases.
Six more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore’s total recoveries to 58,158.
There are 26 cases still in hospital. Most of them are stable or improving, and no one is in the intensive care unit. Another 42 are being isolated and cared for at community facilities.
Sushi Jiro restaurant at Keppel Bay was the only location added on Saturday to MOH’s list of public places visited by COVID-19 community cases during their infectious period.
The full list is as follows:
SHOE SHOP, RESTAURANT SUSPENDED FOR BREACHING SAFETY RULES
On Saturday afternoon, Singapore authorities said they have ordered the Foot Locker store at Orchard Gateway @ Emerald to suspend operations for 10 days for failing to comply with COVID-19 safe management measures.
This comes after large crowds were seen outside the store and the mall on Friday night.
“Large crowds had gathered at the outlet for a product launch on Dec 4, despite repeated advisories by public enforcement agencies on crowd management,” said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) in a joint statement.
The suspension will last until Dec 14.
During this period, the Foot Locker outlet is not allowed to conduct physical retail activities but may continue to continue selling products online. READ: Foot Locker at Orchard Gateway ordered to suspend operations for breaching COVID-19 rules
The Seoul Garden restaurant at Tampines Mall was also ordered to suspend its operations for 10 days for failing to ensure that COVID-19 safe management measures are adhered to.
The ministry started investigations after a man who had dinner with 12 family members at the restaurant tested positive for the coronavirus. READ: Seoul Garden at Tampines Mall closed for 10 days for failing to enforce COVID-19 measures
“Although the family members were seated at separate tables of up to five persons per table, investigations revealed that there had been mingling among them,” said MOH. “The restaurant did not take reasonable steps to prevent the intermingling between tables on its premises.”
Restaurant operations, including dining in and take-away, will be suspended until Dec 14.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.