A 32-year-old Singaporean woman who worked as an associate consultant at the National Skin Centre was among the 52 new cases confirmed on 26 March, 2020. (SCREENCAP: Google Maps)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (26 March) announced 52 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, taking the country’s total to 683.

This follows a single-day high of 73 cases on Wednesday.

Of the 52 new cases, 28 are imported and 24 are local transmissions. Their ages ranged from 18 to 71.

The 28 imported cases had travel history to Europe, North America, Middle East, South-East Asia and other parts of Asia. All except two were returning Singapore residents and long-term pass holders.

10 of the new local transmissions are linked to clusters or previous cases – two of which are linked to the cluster at the Fengshan PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots preschool, while one is linked to the cluster at the Dover Court International School. Both clusters were formally identified by the ministry on Wednesday.

In all, 20 of 683 cases have been linked to the Fengshan centre at 126 Bedok North Street 2. 15 of them are staff members at the preschool, and five cases are family members of case 601, a 47-year-old Singaporean woman identified by the authorities on Wednesday as the centre’s principal.

A total of four cases have been linked to the Dover Court International School at 301 Dover Road. All four are staff members at the school.

Contact tracing is ongoing for the 14 remaining local transmissions with no established links, said the MOH. One such locally-transmitted case is an associate consultant at the National Skin Centre.

Case 666: Associate consultant at National Skin Centre

The 32-year-old Singaporean woman had no travel history to affected countries or regions and reported developing symptoms on Tuesday.

The associate consultant tested positive for the virus on Thursday morning and is currently warded in an isolation room at the Singapore General Hospital.

She was last at work at the National Skin Centre, at 1 Mandalay Road, on Wednesday, said a statement by the centre. Contact tracing revealed that she had close contact with three other doctors and they have been placed on a 14-day leave of absence, it added.

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12 discharged, 18 in ICU

Separately, the MOH said that 12 more patients have been discharged from hospital, bringing the total to 172 fully recovered and discharged.

Most of the remaining 422 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while 18 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit, up from 17 on Wednesday.

The ministry said that 87 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for the virus have been transferred to Concord International Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital and the community isolation facility at D’Resort NTUC.