A 40-year-old passenger tested positive onboard and the result was confirmed after the person was taken to hospital once the ship docked early on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board said, following the detection of the suspected case.

"The passenger was identified as a close contact of a confirmed case on land, and was immediately isolated as part of onboard health protocols," the board said in a statement.

Passengers said they found out about the suspected case in an announcement at around 1 a.m. and had been asked to stay in their rooms since.

The global cruise industry has taken a major hit from the coronavirus pandemic, with some of the earliest big outbreaks occurring on cruise ships in Asian waters.

Singapore, which has seen relatively few domestic COVID-19 cases, launched "round trips" on luxury liners in November, with no port of call during a few days of sailing.

Singapore reported 56 locally transmitted coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest number of daily domestic infections recorded in about 10 months. Local media reported that the case on the ship was part of a growing cluster of COVID-19 infections associated with karaoke lounges.

The World Dream cruise liner had 1,646 passengers and 1,249 crew members on board and all, except essential service crew, had been required to remain in their staterooms with contactless meals sent to them, according to Dream Cruises, a part of Genting Cruise Lines.

The guest suspected of having COVID-19 had tested negative in a mandatory, pre-departure antigen rapid test before the ship set sail for a three-night cruise on Sunday.

The infected passenger's three travelling companions tested negative and were isolated while further contact tracing was being done, the tourism board said. Close contacts will be quarantined, it added.

'A bit rare to happen'

Passenger Rishi Lalwani said he was surprised by the positive case, given the testing and social distancing measures in place for the cruise.

"The COVID situation in Singapore seemed largely contained so, yes, a case in a cruise of 1,700 guests seemed a bit rare to happen. Especially because there haven't been cases on cruises to nowhere for months," said Lalwani.

The cruises to nowhere, restricted to Singapore residents, have become popular during the pandemic with other travel opportunities very limited because of coronavirus restrictions.

Except for the cancellation of World Dream's two-night voyage for Wednesday, all upcoming sailings were unaffected.

All guests disembarking from the World Dream will be required to undergo the mandatory antigen rapid test at the cruise center, Dream Cruises said in a statement.

Anson Lim, 46, who was on board to celebrate his birthday, said he wanted to take more precautions once ashore.

"I will go for an extra COVID-19 test on my own," he said.

Karaoke cluster

In a separate development, Singapore reported its highest number of local coronavirus cases in 10 months on Wednesday, after the discovery of a cluster among hostesses and customers of KTV karaoke lounges.

Of the 56 new community infections, 42 were linked to the KTV outbreak, the health ministry said.

The ministry has been investigating infections among what it said were Vietnamese hostesses who frequented KTV lounges or clubs and has offered free COVID-19 testing to anyone potentially exposed.

The first known case was a Vietnamese woman who sought medical help on Sunday, local media reported.

Singapore has yet to reopen KTV lounges and clubs and authorities said the places where the virus spread were operating as food and beverage outlets.

Singapore police said in a statement they had arrested 20 women late on Wednesday, among them South Koreans, Malaysians, Thai and Vietnamese, for alleged vice activities at KTV lounges.

Police also planned to step up checks and enforcement on such activities, the statement said.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had earlier warned police would take action against violators.

"Any outlets providing hostess services, dice games and all this very close contact, were never allowed," he told local media, according to CNA.

"So, for this to now happen has been troubling [and] disappointing."

Ong said there was no plan to reverse recently loosened restrictions because of the cluster, citing progress in vaccinations.

Singapore has dealt swiftly with most of its coronavirus outbreaks and imposed targeted restrictions in May aimed at slowing the spread of the Delta variant.

It is aiming to complete the vaccination of two-third of its population by Aug. 9.

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