COVID: Malaysian one of two new community cases in Singapore on Thursday

SINGAPORE: A 33-year-old Malaysian man was one of two new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection reported in Singapore on Thursday, said the republic's Ministry of Health.

Labelled as Case 60448, the Work Permit holder is employed by PSA Corporation Ltd as a lashing specialist, said the ministry in its full data released here late last night.

"His serology test result has come back positive but we have assessed that this is likely a current infection," it said, adding that he was asymptomatic.

According to the ministry, the man, who arrived from Malaysia on Dec 23, 2020, received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Jan 22, and the second dose on Feb 14.

"This accounts for his positive serology test as he has likely started producing antibodies following vaccination," said the ministry.

However, the ministry said, as it typically takes a few weeks for an individual to build up immunity after completing vaccination, he was likely to have been infected before he was conferred protection after vaccination.

As at noon yesterday, Singapore reported 10 new cases, of which eight are imported, bringing the total number of infections here to 59,900.

-- BERNAMA